IKEA SMÅLAND PRESS-PLAY-GROUND
To promote Småland playground as a reason to visit IKEA, we announced that we were replacing the playground with a haven of sitting pods and iPads for children as an April Fools prank.
Welcome to the new Småland, now updated for the kids of today.
We've recreated in-store the way they play at home—staring and tapping.
Småland now comes with pods that let each child enjoy being alone with a tablet.
Each tablet contains videos fit for viewing across all ages.
With our high speed connection, your little one will never be idly waiting for videos to load.
We only use full-sized tablets, so there's more space for their fingers to move around.
All your little one needs to do is hop into a pod and press play!
Stay tuned for more details.
RESULTS
Initially, thousands of parents were fooled. They were livid. "How could IKEA do this?!"
Then, after thousands of comments and shares, much local PR coverage including page 2 of the Sunday Times and one reveal post later, they thanked IKEA - for bringing to their light how important physical play is, and reinforced how they loved Småland the way it is.