The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2014
IKEA launches its catalogue like an iPhone — 'Bookbook' hits 9M views in a week
IKEA's 2015 catalogue was unveiled as 'Bookbook' — a deadpan Apple-style product film with eternal battery life; 9M+ views in a week
IKEA
What it had to solve
The annual IKEA catalogue launch had been a marketing cornerstone for decades, but in a world of device launches, a printed book was hard to get excited about.
How it works
In September 2014, IKEA launched its 2015 catalogue the way Apple launches an iPhone. Agency BBH Asia Pacific created a deadpan product film in which a black-turtlenecked 'design guru' presents the Bookbook — eternal battery life, no lag, pages that load instantly — for 'Experience the power of a book.'
The campaign ran in Singapore and Malaysia across film, print, outdoor, radio and cinema, plus a 3D microsite, and was released just before Apple's iPhone 6 announcement so the parody landed against a real tech launch. The idea was simple: make a paper catalogue feel like a device worth unboxing.
The film passed 9 million views within a week and was applauded globally, and #bookbook spread spontaneously on Instagram. IKEA's global distribution of the catalogue carried the joke well beyond its two launch markets.
Why it lands
- It dressed the oldest medium in the newest launch ritual, making people re-examine a familiar object
- Timing the film just before the iPhone 6 announcement made the parody land twice — on Apple and on catalogue season
- The deadpan, polished Apple-style execution was admired by the very audiences it mocked
- Running it across film, print, outdoor, radio and a microsite made the catalogue itself the campaign
What it did
The film passed 9 million views within a week and drew global applause; #bookbook spread spontaneously on Instagram, and the catalogue launch received the same hype usually reserved for a tech product.
What you can take
A mundane asset can borrow the launch ritual of a more exciting category: Apple-grade ceremony made the paper catalogue feel new, and timing beside a rival launch doubled the joke.
Since then
The film became one of IKEA's most-viewed brand films and a fixture in 'best ads of 2014' retrospectives, and parody product-launch ads became a recurring genre. The campaign's influence outlived the 2015 catalogue: IKEA kept finding ways to relaunch its annual book, while the Bookbook itself became shorthand for treating a humble object with flagship ceremony.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card