Given was briefed to highlight IKEA’s commitment to the LGBT+ community and support progress among IKEA co-workers, its customers and in the world. The video campaign gave an authentic space for people of minorities to speak up and represent the many identities within the LGBT+ community.

IKEA is part of the Inka Group, which has a global LGBT+ inclusion plan and is a member of the initiative, Open for Business 2020. The campaign was planned around the theme of progress, with the visuals and colours taking inspiration from Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag. The messaging puts a creative spin on inclusion and diversity by linking back to IKEA as a brand, highlighting how people can build their own identity, much like IKEA products.

Four real people from the LGBT+ community feature in the campaign, including some IKEA workers. The wide range of people represent the diversity within the community and work to ensure all people feel welcome at IKEA as employees or customers.

Becks Williams, Given’s creative director says, “At the outset, Ingka Group made it clear they wanted the campaign to touch on the issue of intersectionality within the LGBT+ community but they wanted us to show this, rather than explain it. Creatively, it was also a dream to tie the idea of a business which encourages us all to get our hands dirty and build something ourselves with the ambition of progress within the LGBT+ community.”

The campaign works to boost consumer awareness of IKEA’s inclusive ethos and aligns with the brand as a leader in this space, as it was the first company to ever show a gay couple in a TV advert back in 1994.

The interactive campaign includes downloadable resources for co-workers to use in workshops. Other assets include actionable tips on use of pronouns and inclusive language, badges and lanyards, posters and email templates.

The campaign was made available to all 32 of Ikea’s markets. The material will be used for in-store and external communications and has been cut to provide shorter clips for use on social media.