Cryptic and curious new Ikea x Hay ad spot unveiled by trio of Danish creative agencies

A trio of Danish creative agencies – Morten Kühl Christensen from Kühl & Solvstrom with Nikextension and Barkas – have unveiled the first in a new series of ad teasers in support of Ikea and Hay’s 2017 collaborative collection.

The cryptic new animation features a glass ball rolling through empty rooms as raw materials hypnotically remould, contort and erupt through the floorboards. The Ypperlig branding is subtly revealed on the spool of thread, driving home the notion of handicraft and design as the materials begin to meld together. Morten Kühl Christensen rendered the video with the express purpose of leaving the viewer with an impression of curiosity and intrigue.

Danish agency Barkas, which worked across concept and creation says: “We decided to focus on the product materials and create a mysterious and abstract teaser for the products to come in 2017.”

“The main dogma was that we couldn’t show any products…so we decided to produce the entire film with the use of 3D animation and photorealist rendering techniques. It had to be surreal and mysterious and leave the viewer with a feeling of “what did I just watch?” Morten Kühl Christensen, designer and animator explains.

The three agencies have worked with Ikea before, apart and in collaboration, with Kühl & Solvstrom providing a number of video pieces and Nikextension designing many of Ikea’s catalogues. “Working with Ikea before it was also a cool opportunity to push them a bit out of their comfort zone and introduce some of the Hay-ness into the art direction,” says Morten.

This latest commission by Ikea follows in its ongoing effort to communicate its brand identity through imaginative cinematic aesthetic, last seen in RBG6’s Sinnerlig vignettes. While the brand partnership between Ikea and Hay began to make news with Hay’s recent redesign of the famous blue Frakta bags.