15 Jan 2021SpottedIKEA's upbeat sustainable campaign eases eco-anxietySPOTTED: the insights behind the ads
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Climate anxiety can be paralysing, leaving the eco-conscious feeling helpless in the face of an insurmountable task. We explore the insights behind IKEA’s ‘Fortune Favours the Frugal’ campaign as it looks to ease this angst with an upbeat take on environmental action, showcasing the sustainable benefits of everyday IKEA products.

Author
Matilda RuckMatilda Ruck is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. She has a degree in politics and philosophy as well as a foundation in psychotherapy. She's passionate about exploring the interplay between creativity, psychology and culture. Outside of work, you can find her writing short stories, tending to her ginger cat Thomas O’Malley, or oscillating between yoga and karaoke practice.

In a bid to highlight its enhanced commitment to the circular economy, IKEA has released its ‘Fortune Favours the Frugal’ campaign, created by Mother London, showcasing how everyday solutions can have a big positive impact. Opening with a meteor-shaped ball of trash heading to Earth, the upbeat ad quickly changes tune as people’s simple acts of pickling onions, growing herbs at home, and reusing water made possible by everyday IKEA products, causes the meteor to break apart until only a single plastic bottle lands on the earth. The move comes off the back of the brand's 2020 ‘green’ Christmas ad as well as a wider company commitment to using only recyclable or renewable plastics by 2030.

The ad shows how everyday solutions can have a big positive impactIKEA (2020)

In the UK, 23% of Britons believe climate change is the most important issue facing the country in the next 20 years, and they’re eager for brands to play a role in resolving it. Indeed, 61% expect the brands they buy from to have clear sustainability practices, and 88% of people in the US and UK expect brands to help them live sustainably. However, with the scale of the climate crisis often leaving people feeling overwhelmed rather than encouraged, there’s a need for brands to reconsider how they communicate with eco-anxious consumers.

Moving away from scaremongering statements, some brands are championing everyday solutions with a lighter touch. For example, Aussie food brand Alt Saints is using quirky characters to spotlight its environmental mission, while the Wear Me 30 times app has gamified sustainable consumption.

Matilda Ruck is a Behavioural Analyst at Canvas8. She has a degree in Politics and Philosophy as well as a foundation in psychotherapy and is passionate about exploring the interplay between creativity, psychology and culture. Outside of work, you can find her writing short stories, tending to her ginger cat Thomas O’Malley or oscillating between yoga and karaoke practice.