IKEA is the latest in a string of marketers to deploy a faux web site to create buzz for their brand. Seattle agency, Wong Doody unleashed Skyhigh Airlines to make fun of high cost carriers (they have Alaska Airlines as a client); more recently Wieden + Kennedy’s NYC office teased gamers with Beta-7, a faux fan site that drew a lot of attention; plus you have the kids in Coconut Grove toying with Burger King fans via various nefarious means.
And now the world has Elite Designers Against Ikea dot org. Here’s where they are coming from:
“We are the Elite Designers. We design profound and beautiful furniture for those with wealth and taste. Which is why IKEA makes us furious livid and angry. Do their designs live, breathe and growl? Are they born from tears of pain? Do they gently touch the bottom of the human soul? Pah! Of course not, no more than weeds can attract a bee. The big blue place is odious, its affordable design is sickeningly shallow and we loathe it even more than we loathe football. Please join us in our unqualified hatred.”
Van Den Puup, EDAI spokesperson