IKEA recreates the simpsons, friends, and stranger things houses with its own furniture

IKEA sifted through thousands of products in their catalogs to create their ‘real life series,’ proving once and for all that art imitates life and life imitates art and the circle continues viciously until you realize: you are online, shopping for real things, based on a render, based on a TV show, which will arrive in a couple days for you to sit on, while you rewatch that TV show. IKEA’s tagline smirks ironically in the top right corner of each of these recreations: ‘for real families.’

all images courtesy of IKEA

above, the stranger things’ living room and ouji wall glows with the energy of a scared son lost in the upside down. below a render of, the simpsons’ couch stares back at you in all its surreal meta-glory. in classic catalog style, IKEA imposes the names and prices of each item. just about everything in each photo is real and purchasable — even the lavender layers of paint used to brighten up the simpsons’ side table. 

in the campaign by publicis, each room speaks to a different kind of consumer with different kinds of interests. but perhaps the most perfect room of all is the one that was designed to feel the most normal — the friends apartment. you might not need christmas lights year-round to contact your missing boy and you might not need an ironically plain circular rug to go at the center of your living room, but every college-aged kid needs one of those ottomans that’s also a storing box. there’s a little something for every IKEA fan here.

project info:

advertising agency: publicis, spain

client: IKEA, UAE

IKEA regional GM marketing, com., interior design, consumer engagement: carla klumpenaar

IKEA regional marketing com. manager: amer yaghi

chief creative officer: eduardo marques

creative director: juliana paracencio, luiz vicente simões

art director: diego fernández-cid

copywriter: guillermo laureano ley núñez

3D artist: bruno rodrigo de miranda

illustrator: bruno rodrigo de miranda