There’s probably an ad idea generated every other minute somewhere in the world. And while some of them borrow from great ad ideas that have come before, and some borrow from not so great ad formulae, the ability of creative minds to come up with genuine uniqueness is becoming increasingly astonishing.
BBH Singapore is promoting Ikea’s catalogue in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand via a woman who was able to memorise the entire thing in one week. Yanjaa Wintersoul is a 23-year old memory champion. The 2018 Ikea catalogue is 328 pages long – and yet she can recall almost any tiny detail from almost any page chosen at random.
And BBH Singapore has realised that this is a wonderful way to get people to pay attention to the catalogue themselves.
The content series, Human Catalogue, includes a story about Wintersoul’s background and ability, and several in which she is tested.
And anyone can test or witness her in action on a Facebook Live event on September 6 at 5PM (Singapore time). This, and the content films, are being supported with digital and social activities, print and out of home.
Nikhil Panjwani, creative director, BBH Singapore, commented, “I’m forgetting the details, but I vaguely remember this idea being born in a workshop somewhere. I have a fleeting memory of the meeting room where our amazing client took a giant leap of faith and gave us a go-ahead. I faintly recollect telling someone that even if we had hired the best talent scout in Hollywood, we wouldn’t have been able to find someone as amazing and charismatic as Yanjaa.”
Mike King, IKEA South East Asia retail director, added, “The iconic IKEA Catalogue is something we are very proud of. Each year we celebrate its launch as we believe it is the go – to home furnishing inspiration for many people and it has been that way for years. This year we are very proud of the fun we are having with BBH and Yanjaa, further strengthening the link between people and home furnishings. After all, inspiring and challenging people to re-look at their homes has been the main purpose of the IKEA Catalogue for all these years.”
