To mark its 25th anniversary in Spain, the Swedish retailer IKEA came up with a distinct idea and has taken the world of reality TV by a storm. ‘Trapped in the 90s’ features six people belonging to Gen-Z – a generation that has not known life before IKEA – trapped in a 90s style house. The bathrooms are smaller than cubicles, the mattresses won’t let them sleep.
The Contestants
McCann Spain has created IKEA’s reality show. The contestants were chosen with scrutiny – all of them born after 1996, and all of them web influencers. Being social media stars, the six participants have been posting things on their own, and that has only helped the show expand its reach.
But why has IKEA waited 25 years to manifest this idea?
It takes about 30 years for a critical mass of people who were once consumers of culture when young to become creators of culture in their adulthood.
Why Spain is loving ‘Trapped in the 90s’
IKEA has been ‘creating a better world for the many people’, but ‘Trapped in the 90s’ has been its most successful branded content campaign yet. This is because, along with constantly advertising its tagline, the company has finally been able to show us life without its products. In every episode, the contestants are surprised to discover the life that was lived before IKEA came up with its innovations. The furniture, the lights – nearly everything this home furnishing brand offers provides glimmers of hope to the stuck Gen- Z.
That this show is not an advertisement, has no hidden agenda, but is the recorded real experience of real people only adds to the appeal.
A major portion of the audience consists of Gen Y and Gen Z – the former being too young to remember life without IKEA, the latter not having known it at all. Needless to say, the feelings resonated.
Where you can watch IKEA’s campaign
You can find eight 5-minutes long episodes on IKEA Spain’s YouTube channel or IKEA’s website. The dedicated webpage also introduces you to the contestants and shows you around their 90s house.
You can also follow the participants on their individual social media profiles for some insiders and extra snips.
IKEA’s 25th year has surely been a convincing one. Nostalgia has the power to remember only what was good, but ‘Trapped in the 90s’ takes a step back from this and we are met face to face with the good ol’ times – a time when utensils were all over the kitchen, the beds not comfortable, the rooms too dim. Thanks to IKEA, though, the past is in the past.
Liked reading this? You’re sure to like Real Magic: First Look At Coca Cola’s New Global Brand Identity
0 Comments