The wonderful everyday.

IKEA’s 2017 ad celebrates life’s little moments while moving advertising in a better direction.

Advertising has an uncomfortable past — This ad is a great example of how to change that.

What if every little moment was cause for celebration? That’s the question IKEA asks in their 2017 ad campaign, The Wonderful Everyday. Take a look:

This ad captures the joy of life’s little moments

From waking up early, to getting a B on that test you studied for, every small success is a moment to celebrate.

And it’s perfectly in tune with IKEA’s brand — simple, affordable furniture for our everyday lives. Something worth celebrating itself.

This ad also features something else worth celebrating.

A black family.

The uncomfortable truth about advertising

Traditionally, advertisers haven’t featured people of color. And when they did, they were not kind.

From Aunt Jemima to Chiquita, brands in the past have stereotyped and caricatured people from communities outside whatever was considered mainstream.

Lately, that’s changed for the better. And yet, well-intentioned advertising still catches flak.

It’s an unfortunate reality that people of color still are vilified — if not by the ads that represent them, by the consumers who engage with them.

IKEA’s ad has a clear message: we all celebrate the same

There’s nothing in IKEA’s ad that can cause controversy.

It doesn’t seek to draw attention to the fact that the family featured is of any particular race or background. It doesn’t pat itself on the back or alienate others. It simply shows a family being a family.

Its message is clear.

Families all celebrate the same. We all have access to joy.

We need more of this.

We need ads that show people of all colors, creeds, and classes participating in what IKEA calls the wonderful everyday.

If it’s the goal of marketing to move people further from pain and closer to pleasure, then it’s ads like these that will get us there.

— Mike Doane

P.S. Don't walk away empty-handed

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