Episode 54 - IKEA Trash Collection Ad Reviewed by LinkedIn, GSK, Anheuser-Busch and MullenLowe
IKEA’s latest collection is… the Trash Collection! In their most recent ad, the brand are shedding light on how they’re reclaiming discarded furniture and selling it back in stores. But, is this a piece of greenwashing or a genuine sustainable activity?
How clear is the message, beyond its initial relatability to consumers? And is the target audience evident from the clip?
Watch the full episode to see what our guest panel thought. We are joined by Bian Salins, Head of Content and Creative Solutions at LinkedIn, Rida Alvi, Marketing Manager for South East Asia and Taiwan at GSK, Gillian Beerman, Associate Producer at Anheuser-Busch, and Erica Johnson, Brand Strategist at MullenLowe.
Transcription
The following is an automated transcript of the file, which is not 100% accurate but will give you a good idea of what was discussed.
Tom Ollerton 0:08
Hello, and welcome to Advertisers Watching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of Automated Creative, and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands' ads and discuss what's good and bad about them. We are brought to you in partnership with Contagious, helped choose the ad this week, so please go and check those guys out after the show. So, before we get to the creative this week, let's meet this week's guests.
Bian Salins 0:34
Hi, everyone. I'm Bian Salins and I'm from LinkedIn. And I'm the Head of Content and Creative Solutions.
Rida Alvi 0:41
Hi, I'm Rida. I am the Marketing Manager at GSK for Southeast Asia, and Taiwan.
Gillian Beerman 0:48
I'm Gillian Beerman. I'm an Associate Producer at Anheuser-Busch's in-house creative agency called DraftLine.
Erica Johnson 0:55
Hi, I'm Erica Johnson, and I'm a Brand Strategist at MullenLowe.
Tom Ollerton 0:59
Fantastic, guys. Thank you so much for joining us today. Let's see this week's ad.
[clip]
Tom Ollerton 2:18
Right, Bian... What was your reaction to that when you first saw it?
Bian Salins 2:23
It did draw me into the story. I'll probably say that as a starting point. But I was unclear around the message IKEA really wanted to land. And if you didn't wait right till the end to see that, you would've... For somebody who is not a consumer of IKEA, I would've probably dropped off. But I did like the story.
Rida Alvi 2:44
I just really loved the ad, like I was watching it and I'm going, "I have that. I got rid of that." So you know, I thought it was a really great ad. But I do agree with you. Like I thought it was not as clear as it could be about what do they want you to do with that ad. But you kind of need to know what they've been about in last couple of years to really get that. But as an overall ad, I found it brilliant. And I thought it really resonated with me as a consumer.
Gillian Beerman 3:14
You know, at the end it says, "The Trash Collection." And I'm thinking, "Oh, that feels small." Right? Like, for how big of an issue it is, it feels like they're downsizing. And they only show you this small little section and then it kind of, the call to action directs the consumer to look, to go to a website and look up what IKEA is doing. But when it says, "Welcome 2030." I'm like, "What, what are they doing?" You know, like, what does 2030 mean? So, I do wish it was a little bit more informative in that light.
Erica Johnson 3:44
We're going to refurbish these pieces that people have thrown away. But then it also added more questions like, so you go into these trash dumps and just picking up stuff that people have, and like, is that, how is that more sustainable? So, aren't you increasing your carbon footprint if you're going to the trash and picking these things out? Or how are you finding them? So, why like, where are you getting them from in this trash collection? So, just added more questions for me, actually.
Tom Ollerton 4:11
They've articulated, what, five or six different bits of furniture that has been thrown away. If there are only as you say, one shop with a few items in it, is this greenwashing? Does anyone think that IKEA sort of trying to do the right thing without actually doing the right thing?
Bian Salins 4:25
The fundamental disconnect for me is that when you have to pour a lot of money to craft a story and promote how sustainable you are as a business, there's something amiss like for me it is in the doing and the demonstrable proof that you are a sustainable business.
Erica Johnson 4:46
I think it's hard to convey, you know, your, sometimes your core values and what you stand for in 60-second slot. But in terms of sustainability, if you don't know the practices, and I think that's the harder part because people, some people do the research and really dig into these, these companies. And figure out, "Okay, cool, they really are sustainable from their creation all the way down to their carbon footprint and when they deliver these places." But most people by and large are not, not going to do that. So, they're only relying on what they, what they're seeing. So, it might be, to some, greenwashing because, and that might not even be a term that they're familiar with. So, to some it might be, but then to others who really know, like, read it. "Okay, cool. I really like IKEA. I really want to shop there." Whereas me, I'm just like, I would have to really research that to really understand, like, what are they offering? Is this true?
Rida Alvi 5:42
I'd be actually really interested to know who were they really then targeting? Was it just the consumers that already know about you know, their products? What they do? Or is it meant to be a much more wider reach to greenwash there may be a little?
Gillian Beerman 5:57
I don't know, I feel like they're such a big brand that they need to take responsibility in a way that, it's a refresher, almost, like, "Hey, just don't, don't forget, like, we're doing our part as well." And I don't necessarily think it might be in towards anyone besides maybe themselves to reinstate the practices that they've been already doing, or the goals that they have. And that's just the value and mission tied to the, to the brand itself. But you know, a consumer might know, not know, right off the bat, like you were saying.
Erica Johnson 6:27
There was this mental study on social responsibility that came out in like 2018. And so it was saying, like, a lot of consumers want people to be socially responsible. But then also after in the aftermath of George Floyd, then you added another layer of social justice. How diverse is your workforce? And then people, organizations that had never had any relationship to diversity, at all, were like, "Let's jump on this bandwagon." And they got called out. And I feel like a lot of companies are getting caught in the same thing with this sustainability thing, because people want climate change, everything that's happening, the pandemic, coronavirus. So, people are very, paying attention a lot more to the environment. And so I think sometimes companies are trying to bring that audience in, even though they haven't been doing this all along. It's a nice shift, though. But it depends on how developed their effort is. And so that's only, you know, we can only wait to see what happens with IKEA and like the near future.
Bian Salins 7:25
I wonder if that's because COVID has brought a need to be authentic. And, and brands, actually, the thing that brands are trying to do here is come forward, and finding their authentic space, but not quite knowing how to get there.
Erica Johnson 7:41
One of the things that people are more willing to accept is climate change, is sustainability versus like, you trying to just be, "I'm just going to join this diverse space and I've never talked to these consumers before." Whereas everybody's kind of like, "Okay, cool, you can do this." And people won't be mad at you for leaning in, even if you had no experience prior.
Gillian Beerman 7:59
But I feel like people get overwhelmed with how to tackle climate change, because it also seems like so out of our control, and there needs to be more collective action. And that would most likely be through government. And there are some things that we need to keep moving forward on. And it's not just plastic straws, and I think companies know that. But it's a hard issue to tackle. It's overwhelming. And, you know, you get almost a sense of dread and grief from it.
Rida Alvi 8:25
I had a question maybe just generally for the panel. Is this perhaps more of an effort for them to increase the lifecycle of products? Or is this truly about sustainability and about, you know, helping the environment? It does kind of make me wonder whether it's just because of how they've been branded?
Erica Johnson 8:44
I feel like I'm a little bit of a cynic. But like, you know, the whole point is to make money. Overall. The whole point is, is, these are big companies. They do want to make money, that's the cynical part of it. So, like you have to find that piece of pie where you can actually that, that balance where they're like, "Well, we are satisfying these people who want climate change, who are into this. And this is our consumer base. I'm sure they've done some research." I mean they should have done some research into who their consumers are and who's buying their products. But then also, on the flip side of that, we do need to make money.
Tom Ollerton 9:19
Guys, I need to wrap up this show. You've done a brilliant job of running the panel without me which is great. But I'm gonna, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna count to three. And on the count of three, I want you to give this execution a vote out of five with your fingers. So, one, two, three... A two, a two, a three, and a three. There you have it. Bian, Erica, Rida, Gillian, thank you so much for your time.
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