New York – Why pay an advertising agency when YouTube enthusiasts will do the work for free? That’s what Ikea must be wondering after an online video by musician Brad Go has gone viral.
The quirky video sees the New York-based Ikea fan try to charm a girl in the Brooklyn store while singing an ironic song that uses the names of Ikea furniture for lyrics. A pop-up screen unveiling a translation appears if a viewer clicks on the individual brand names.
‘It was done completely independently of Ikea,’ Go told Mashable. ‘Purely for laughs, and the things we got away with were remarkable.’
Although this is not a brand-led campaign, the song’s YouTube popularity shows the potential for success in using irony in product placement. See how this has been used by the fashion industry in our The Irony of Fashion microtrend.