Furnishings fit for a President

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Swedish furniture make Ikea wanted to run a campaign that would piggy-back on the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the USA. Ikea felt that Obama’s fiscal responsibility during an economic downturn matched Ikea’s philosophy of affordable home furnishings for all.

Jumping onto Obama’s “embrace the change” campaign strap line, Ikea came up with the idea to redesign the iconic Oval Office. During the two weeks either side of the inauguration, Ikea set up a replica of the iconic round room in Washington DC’s main train station, Union Station. The furniture store replaced all the furniture with Ikea furniture and allowed commuters to enter the “room” and experience the change first hand. They could also sign a guestbook welcoming in the president-elect, which would be delivered to the White House at a later date.

Ikea also offered the First Family an Ikea makeover for any White House room, using Ikea accessories and its team of designers. The campaign was supported by a website, http://www.embracechange09.com, where visitors can design a virtual Oval Office and  sign up for a chance to win furnishings. Three winners would get gift cards valued at $1,500.

Ikea also arranged for a few presidential vehicles to travel around Washington with furniture strapped to the roof as well as buses, trains and billboards carrying the “Embrace Change ‘09” message and featuring political rhetoric, with messages including “Time for domestic change now!” and “Change begins at home!”.

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