IKEA and the phenomenon.

In 2021, IKEA collaborated with media company Memac Ogilvy Dubai ahead of the mid-2021 release of UAP material. It was a small but unconventional marketing strategy, but very much aimed at ‘getting ahead of the curve’ and being proactive about current events and movements in the cultural zeitgeist. They didn’t ridicule, but they still had respectful fun with the concept. They engaged with a sensible ‘what if’ attitude and made some assembly instructions for some of their classic products in a fictional alien language and replaced the diagrams of people in the manuals with aliens. There was a brief marketing campaign entitled ‘Furniture For All’. You can read some short articles about it here, here, here and here.

With fact that IKEA has shown an interest in the phenomenon in mid, I was in IKEA the other day with my kids and the store greeter says to them, “Hi! Do you want to help search for aliens?” So, there is a current promotion in several countries for a new alien soft toy. The kids do a scavenger hunt around the store to find the hidden alien pictures and then they win a prize (I think it was a mini version of the toy, the scavenger hunt was brutally difficult and the kids lost interest). There were some posters around advertising the promotion with the rhetorical question “Are aliens real?” So, the whole promotion was to launch a new space-themed kids range called Aftonsparv that dropped in October 2023. Here in Australia there are 23 items in the range, 12 of which feature UAPs and/or NHI. When you got to the kids section there was a social media photo setup where you stand on a little stage and it’s an optical illusion of your kids being taken up by a UAP. See #IKEAexperience. I don’t recall a kids range being so assertively marketed ever at IKEA. First time I’ve seen a scavenger hunt. First time I’ve been aware of giveaway prizes.

Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting that IKEA is part of some secret plot to ‘soften up’ the children of the world in preparation for a post-disclosure reality. I ain’t that guy. While I’m sure IKEA’s product development lead time on Aftonsparv takes us pre-2023, it does rather seem timely and there is precedent for UAP awareness. And IKEA is progressive as an early adopter on issues that start on the periphery before becoming mainstream (e.g. sustainability and the environment, but IKEA’s actual performance here is debatable). But here is a multinational company that has given indications that it’s willing to engage, be open minded and behave like adults. It’s a model for others to follow. There will be economic fallout in the event of disclosure. Backpedaling is a terrible look for any organisation, especially one that ultimately is driven by profit and consumer trust.