The Challenge

How could a home furnishings store inspire creativity in the kitchen?

In 2017, all IKEA regions were tasked with developing communication that would support the global theme of “It starts with the food.” As part of that communication, IKEA Canada was planning on holding kitchen events during the Family Day weekend at locations across the country.

Agency Leo Burnett was tasked with creating a brand act for the events that would engage and inspire people to get involved with the brand theme, moving IKEA associations from kitchen basics to a brand that inspires creativity in the kitchen.

Insight

Most people find new foods and recipes to be intimidating.

The target for the events was national IKEA shoppers who struggle when it comes to cooking dinner. They find getting creative with food to be complicated and they are hesitant to try new things in the kitchen, even though they are surrounded by inspiration in food magazines, blogs and TV shows. What could the brand create to make creativity in the kitchen deliciously simple?

The Plan

The agency designed and developed a first-of-its-kind cooking method, combining IKEA food, ingenuity and fun to get people exploring with food and IKEA.

The idea was called “Cook This Page” – a whole new way of helping people experience the easy and fun side of food with an innovative design concept that reinvented the recipe book.

The recipes were printed on parchment paper using a unique printing process that resulted in the first interactive “fill in the blank” cookbook. To get more creative in the kitchen, people just had to fill in the blanks, roll the paper up, cook it and eat.

Design was the driving force behind the idea, the execution and the consumer experience. The ingredient blanks on the paper were precisely measured, helping people determine how much sauce, salt or chives to add. IKEA food items and kitchen tools were seamlessly incorporated into the recipes and all illustrations were inspired by the food. The team designed an entire parchment paper recipe book that was made available in the food section of IKEA stores during the Family Day weekend kitchen event.

The Results

With “Cook this Page,” IKEA successfully reinvented people’s relationship with food, inspiring them through insight and design innovation.

Each and every one of the 12,500 parchment recipe books distributed across the country were snatched up within hours by Canadians hungry to break out of their dinner routine and try something new. From Richmond, B.C., to Boucherville, QC, people got creative and made deliciously simple meals with a little help from IKEA.

The campaign has also won numerous international awards, including The One Show, D&AD, and two Gold and two Bronze Lions at the Cannes Festival of Creativity.