At the end of 2024, IKEA Global assembled a f̶l̶a̶t̶p̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶ small but mighty ‘Responsive’ project team. The objective of the team? To keep IKEA - an 80+ year old brand - culturally relevant (we're still cool, okay!).
How? By creating engaging social content that gets thumbs to stop whilst scrolling, by responding to trends, news and pop-cultural moments. It's fast, cost-effective and aims to drive widespread engagement by showcasing IKEA products in unexpected, creative ways, with what we call the IKEA "twinkle in the eye." 🤩
In early 2025, Season 2 of Apple TV+’s Severance became a defining pop-culture moment, generating widespread critical acclaim and dominating social conversation. The show’s distinctive set design became instantly recognisable. Close to the season finale, the Responsive team identified a timely opportunity to engage with this cultural moment by reimagining the iconic Severance desk set-up, using - you guessed it, IKEA products!
The primary goal was to reinforce the brand as culturally attuned, and achieve strong impressions and engagement - aiming for at least 5 million total organic impressions, and a minimum 4% engagement rate each for key English speaking markets- on a budget of $0.
The project was brought to life entirely by IKEA’s small in-house Responsive team. With a mix of different interests and a team that lives and breathes internet culture (we really need to get outside), they are well placed to spot emerging moments worth tapping into.
As mentioned, Apple TV+’s award-winning series Severance was dominating online conversation following its long-awaited second season, further amplified by viral marketing moments such as the live activation at New York’s Grand Central Terminal with the cast. Recognising the cultural momentum around the show, a Social Media Specialist (and big Severance fan!), identified an opportunity in early March to recreate the iconic office set, with accompanying copy inspired by a key quote in the show. The aim was to go live on the season finale, March 21.
The team’s Graphic Designer and Set Designer quickly got to work, and built and rendered the scene using Blender and Photoshop. Everything was created using existing IKEA products* and internal skills, allowing the team to move rapidly from idea to execution without external production or budget.
One challenge was encouraging global adoption across IKEA markets. Reactive ideas tied to specific moments can sometimes be perceived as "niche," so the team worked closely with stakeholders to explain the show's culture impact, and share early performance results from the markets that published on the finale date. This helped build confidence and momentum, eventually leading to 16 IKEA countries posting, helping to amplify the campaign’s reach.
What makes this work unique is how quickly it came together at no cost, and truly showed how IKEA can participate in pop culture in a way that feels relevant, creative, and most importantly - true to the brand.
*Monitors were sourced from an open-source 3D library (big props to them!)
The campaign exceeded its objectives by driving exceptional organic impressions and engagement, becoming one of IKEA’s most shared social campaigns of all time and reinforcing the brand's cultural relevance.
Trackable impressions: 21 million (from IKEA accounts and major Twitter/X screenshot shares)
Total shares on IKEA posts: 146k
Total reactions on IKEA posts: 371k
Total saves on IKEA posts: 21.5k
Total comments on IKEA posts: 5185
Cost: $0
Key highlights:
All results were achieved organically.
The campaign reached far beyond IKEA’s own channels. MrBeast commented on a viral X screenshot share, expanding visibility to new audiences.
Most notably, Severance’s Emmy Award–winning production designer, Jeremy Hindle, featured the work during his Figma Config 2025 keynote, validating the execution from one of the actual creatives behind Severance.
The campaign also helped to drive commercial impact, with the MITTZON range becoming one of the top three growth drivers for IKEA’s workspace category globally in 2025.
These results demonstrate how culturally relevant creative can drive both brand relevance and business impact.
