A Music Video For Ikea: Playin’ with my Friends
How and Why Ikea made a music video about life sized toys at a dinner party
Normal furniture or homeware commercials are usually straightforward with a family sitting around a table or watching television. They show the furniture in real life situations. Ikea typically even uses this approach.
Playin’ with my Friends opens with a stuffed animal before slowly shifting to a child — with a life sized stuffed bear standing behind her. Clearly this ad has gone with a more surreal approach.
Dougal Wilson directs “Playin’ with my Friends” as part of a London advert campaign for Ikea. The music video uses cinematography, editing, and surreal elements to emphasize first the ease that comes with using Ikea products (particularly for families with kids) and second the joys of coming together with loved ones.
The film opens with a girl stirring a pot, as she looks at her stuffed bear. She looks over her shoulder and sees a life sized version of the bear. They immediately get to work setting up for a dinner party, first dressing the table in a tablecloth and then adorning it in plates and cups. Then they begin letting in guest, beginning with a boy and his robot. As the guest (other children and their life sized toys) slowly roll in, they help prepare the meal. Everyone finally sits at the table to eat and through a mirror we see the toys are actually people.
Now one of the ultimate goals of “Playing with my friends” is to illustrate the ease of using Ikea products. It’s a product demonstration ad in disguise. Product demonstration ads typically show how to use a product or demonstrate a unique or unusual trait of a product. These ads are typically not very creative or engaging, consisting of a rather straightforward illustration of how to operate a product. The most basic form of this would be infomercials.
A more advanced version of this would be something which uses science, explanation, graphics, and somewhat flashy “experiments” as a heavy part of the demonstrating a product. These ads aim to convince you often by comparing how one product functions in comparison to a competitor’s.
The most engaging category is the one I think “Playin’ with my Friends” belongs to. These product demonstrations often show a product in use in an eye catching situation. They show the functionality of the product without spelling it out, merely showing you something interesting that the product just happens to be part of.
The Ikea advert on its face is a music video with giant toys at a dinner party set to an modernized pop cover of B.B. King’s “Playin’ with my Friends”. This is an inherently intriguing and unusual idea. But as this interesting music video is in progress the advert is simultaneously providing a demonstration of Ikea’s products and how easy they are for kids to use. The ad portrays using Ikea systems as both easy and fun.
The editing and cinematography also aim to communicate this feeling of fun and ease. The camera is in motion throughout the entire film, from the very first moment of the film where the camera pulls back. Even in moments where the camera is seemingly still there is slight movement provided by the fact that the camera is handheld. This gives a liveliness to the film. This constant movement is aided by the editing. The editing provides the illusion of a long take, borrowing some techniques from Hitchcock’s Rope. This pseudo long take also provides a smoothness which highlights the ease of using Ikea products. The final result is a music video in constant motion filled with energy.
By the end of the music video, the house is bustling with activity. It’s filled with family and friends. But up until this moment we see guests slowly joining the others, first starting with a boy and his robot and ending with the arrival of a boy and a Godzilla like dinosaur. Every guest immediately falls into step joining the choreographed dance of setting up for the evening’s party. Everyone can help. The robot helps in the set up of utensils. The action figure helps to slice bread. The dinosaur helps to cook the meal. While the music video had the goal of demonstrating the products functionality and being engaging, it is this that is the emotional core of the music video. In the world of “Playin’ with my Friends” everyone can join, everyone contributes, and everyone has a place. This is the world Ikea wants their products to be part of.
