virtual ikea is so much better than the real thing.

ikea.com

fun! ikea takes disposable furniture shopping to a whole new level with this microsite.

• interactivity: check
• seamless video: check
• sells products: check
• improves brand identity: check

everyone goes to ikea. a trip to ikea may not be a facebook event to post about, and it doesn't matter if you make 25K or 100K; we all do it. ok there may be some brand-whores or anti-brand-whores who might snub cheap furniture, but judging from the line-ups any given friday night, saturday or sunday - i think it's fair to say : we all fucking go to ikea.

but how many times have you gone to ikea to look for the perfect (and affordable) tv stand and walk out, instead, with a new set of stylized drinking glasses and a belly full of spaghetti for only 99 cents?

i think creating a microsite that encourages online purchases is a fantastic idea for ikea. and here's why:

this site makes ikea furniture look amazing!

and let's face it, the ikea showroom has trouble hiding the wear and tear that their furniture is so prone to. so you take away the hordes of people and children; remove the frustration of trying to fit a 7 ft. tall wardrobe organizer into your car (will those fold down seats make any difference???) and - voila - we can pretend the furniture isn't made of particle board!

this won't affect their in-store sales at all because a trip to ikea is still entertaining and you can't buy their swedish meatballs or ginger cookies online. plus, for the kids, the ikea ballpit is so much better than gimpy McDonald's playgrounds.