Maybe it took the right kind of client to get the juices flowing from the younger creative ranks at McCann in New York, whose output has been conspicuously low profile after Swedish stars Linus Karlsson and Andreas Dahlqvist took over the Manhattan agency. (More recently, the two were moved into global roles.)
"A World Without Textiles" is a two-minute online teaser for McCann's revamp of Ikea's catalog, which is expected to go public in the U.S. in coming weeks. The Swedish retailer's theme this year is textiles, and this whimsical film is more characteristic of Karlsson's quirky past work. Imagining a world without fabrics, the cute, eye-catching imagery shows a day in the life with easy chairs constructed from cacti, rugs made of sand, and cozy pillows replaced by tree stumps. Under Dad's cardboard-box suit—popular with the neighborhood dogs—he wears aluminum foil underwear and is glad to have the family's pet bunny nearby when it's time to dry off after a shower. The film's soundtrack, Maplewood's rendition of Bread's "Everything I Own," completes the narrative.
CREDITS
Client: Ikea
Spot: "A World Without Textiles"
Agency: McCann, New York
Chairman: Linus Karlsson
Vice Chairman: Andreas Dahlqvist
Associate Creative Directors: Koen Malfait, Zack McDonald
Junior Art Directors: Sheila Johansson, Zorica Radovic
Chief Production Officer: Brian DiLorenzo
Producers: Luca Mazzarini, Minnie Tran
Music Producer: Michael Ladman
Executive Project Leader: Rich Whalen
Project Leader: Isabelle Brummer Lewenhaupt
Executive Producers: Jamie Miller, Claude Letessier
Producer: Pat Harris
Production Company: Paranoid US
Director: Olivier Babinet
DP: Yves Cape
Production Designer: Robert Dabrowski
Costume Designer: Fred Cambier
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Arianna Tomasettig
Colorist: Pearly Leung
Mixer: Marc Healey
Producer: Olivia Chiu
Music: Maplewood, "Everything I Own"