Memac Ogilvy Dubai

Client: Al Futtaim IKEA
Product: IKEA
Title: Swedish Meatballs Are Swedish Again
Media: Digital, Social Media
Country: United Arab Emirates
Date Of Campaign: March 9, 2021

Background: In 2018, Sweden’s Official Twitter Account revealed a fact that took everyone by surprise: meatballs, their national dish, were not Swedish. IKEA, globally recognized for its Swedish meatballs, remained silent all the time…until now.Our brief was a long lasting brief: make the brand at the centre of culture and media conversation, riding topics with IKEA usual tone of voice of funny, humble and light hearted.The main objective was increase brand awareness and affinity.

Idea: We launched our new plant-based meatballs 100% Swedish.Developed by IKEA and a Swedish chef named Alexander Magnusson.And you know what? They taste and look the same as the normal meatballs.To communicate this launch, we answered their 2018 tweet… And they replied by celebrating with us that their national dish was 100% Swedish: “Excellent!!”Something that generated the buzz we needed for our new product launch.“SWEDISH MEATBALLS HAVE NEVER BEEN SWEDISH. UNTIL NOW.”

Results: Everybody now knows that Swedish meatballs are Swedish, once and forever. Moreover, the sales of the new plant base meatballs exceeded the sales of the meat base ones of 5% during the first month.It arrived in 23 countries from all around the world.