Adland definitely upholds the philosophy (and very famous Australian tagline), “When you’re on a good thing, stick to it.” So technically, this new Ikea ad by Havas Lemz and production company Czar shouldn’t stand out from the crowd. It uses the current Ikea format of animating inanimate objects and adding Ikea product details as titles into a “better everyday life” message, its voiceover is a poem and it features a same sex couple.

But it does stand out. Its central idea, pay attention to the restorative, recharging nature of sleep, is an attention-magnet – lack of sleep is a universally relatable topic. And the film is beautifully produced.

Czar director, Kingma, commented, “My work is usually comedy-based but this time I had to create a simple film that tickles imagination and has a calming effect. I wanted to add a personal touch to the film and make it more humane, so I paid great attention to the cast and incorporated modern romance into this simple yet eerie film. Getting the VO to have the right tone of voice was a challenge. I wanted it to be poetic and rhythmic without being too overpowering. I also want the attention to be shifted towards the VO rather than the couple – I wanted to portray them as a normal couple, which they are. In the end, I am grateful that Havas gave me the opportunity to create this film and I am really happy with the end result.”

Credits:

Agency: Havas Lemz

Copywriter: Sander van de Vlasakker
Art Director: Rein van der Ven
Producer: Marga Bierema

Production Company: Czar

Director: Floris Kingma

Producer: Roos Blank
Production Manager: Aemilia van Lent
DOP: Gabor Deak
1st AD: Philip de Longh

Art Directors: Ralf van Lanen, Jelier & Schaaf

Editor: Teun Rietveld

Post Production: Storm Postproduction
Sound: Soundcircus

Public Relation: Rizka Soetjoko