In this ad, IKEA is deliberately not showing a product in its totality but appealing to our humanness and our shared understanding of the zeitgeist. Most people will recognise the image of an anonymous chair piled up with clothes. It’s as if “IKEA” has been inside our home and seen our most private spaces. 

The reference to a “mid-century icon” chair is hinting at the very recognisable Vitra Eames chair, a staple piece of the 20th century, very much en vogue in the last years and copied by many a furniture brand. 

IKEA is quite directly choosing a provocative message, critical of capitalism in the way it’s seen us spend exorbitant amounts of money for furniture items that symbolise a certain value for aesthetics, yet have an identical purpose to much cheaper, equally functional items (such as the Odger chair, in this case). Interestingly, IKEA’s target audience is, most likely, a middle class audience who doesn’t necessarily have the means to acquire such overly priced furniture pieces, which doesn’t signify it won’t pine for them or even extend beyond its financial means to acquire such “staple” or “iconic” items. Ultimately, the message is “a chair is simply a chair”.

The anonymity of the space pictured and the choice of the clothes depicted, allows for a variety of buyers to recognise and picture themselves in the context of the image (or, more specifically, the bedroom), despite its relative lack of information.

The IKEA Odger chair, at roughly a 6th of the value, indeed seems to be inspired by the Eames chair, compounding the effect of the not-so-subtle enquiry: “why spend all that money when we all know the chair will be more often than not hidden under a pile of clothes, in the corner of your room?”.

IKEA is being provocative, questioning the dilemmas surrounding aesthetics and worth vs. function and affordability, giving the buyer an easy way out when justifying their choice in buying IKEA furniture.

Source: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/the-chair-fritz-hansen-vs-svenbertil