Hey boys and girls, looky what I found in my box of treasures.
What do you think it is (well, it's a bumper sticker, but...)?
Hints:
It's from 1985
It was for the first US Store Opening for this company
It was the opener for a teaser campaign which my husband, who was in charge of the project, cooked up with the ad agency.
It resulted in the single most successful new store opening campaign for this particular company worldwide to that point....
Over 25,000 people a day for 7 days in a row piled into the store during the opening week.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike had to be periodically shut.
We had the Fire Department present at all times to maintain order in the 1 mile line to get in -- in 90 degree heat and humidity.
A woman went into hard labor and a man had a heart attack in the store the first week -- statistically normal facts for such a crowd.
It was all anyone in Philadelphia could talk about for a very long time.
In 1985 and 1986, four babies born in the Philadelphia area were named after the store. We employees hoped that they were not conceived in the store rest rooms, but assumed they were. I personally hope they are using their middle names today.
Meatballs, anyone? Or a shrimp sandwich? Some lingonberry juice maybe?
17 comments:
It's Ikea, but it was so hard, I had to use your clues! Have you been going through your boxes??? ;-)
Haha - got it without the clues. But watching concentration as a kid probably helped.
Got it quickly, but only because I make a lot of rebus charts at work!
As soon as you said store, I knew it was Ikea. We don't have one around Raleigh. There's supposed to be one in charlotte, NC now.
Cameron
I got it without clues! Hope this isn't my greatest success all day, though!
"Ja Ja Ja" is Spanish my multilingual friend! Infectious? ;)
... It took me a bit only because I always forget the way you pronounce it!!! ..... it's IHKEHAH!!!! ;)
I just happened to remember that you worked for Ikea! Great story.
That's great! Something would have been very wrong if I HADN'T gotten it within 2.3 seconds. :)
WOW, I remember cos I lived in Philadelphia then. I don't remember my first visit, tho, but we did get our Christmas tree there.
Aha! I was there yesterday (Sunday) with Lui which is always like putting him through torture.
What financial crisis?! The place was wall to wall people. Much more fun when it's just you, me, tasty pesto and a Tuesday afternoon!
OH !! The Christmas Tree Rental Promotion. I remember it well. You rent your tree for 20 bucks, bring it back after Christmas, and you get 10 bucks back and a 10 dollar gift certificate -- something like that. AND you could take your mulched tree back home with you. We had over 10,000 trees in the parking lot. People were killing each other to get the right tree.
I have so many stories I could tell. Opening an IKEA store is an incredible, international, insanely work intensive experience which is really great when you are young.
I was one of the first 9 Americans hired by IKEA. We thought we had landed on a foreign planet.
The first thing they wanted was for us all to learn Swedish. And it only got funnier from there.....
Giulia, it might be Spanish, but it's German and Swedish and probably another few languages too! JA JA JA it's true!
Now I know what to answer next time that someone reacts to my JAJAJA with "typical hispanic influence".... :(
;)
Amy, what's a rebus chart?
Diva, I found all of the original ad mock ups for the whole campaign -- it was amazing.
Kim, I loved that show.
Cameron, life without an IKEA? I get the shakes thinking about it.
Sally, hope there were a couple of other good things that happened today. Just think--tomorrow is a result of what happened while you were here...!
Janie, working for IKEA changed my life. In every conceivable way.
Meg -- the pesto at La Pressa is so awesome. Can't wait to hit the place with you.
... and ginny -- I just read your whole, entire blog today. You make me love IKEA again (well I do love IKEA but you know what I mean). All that hope and promise and great colors. I don't know how long I would last in Älmhult, although I am holding up on a hill in Italy pretty well, so.... I need to go find that first catalog from 1985. I know I have it somewhere.
I got it right away - didn't even read the post. I love intelligent adverts . . . no need for jiggly flesh of a tune!
I got it too without the clues. We also use rebus pics at my school though. Rebus pics or charts have pictures instead of words for some or all of the words (sort of like your bumper sticker). Cute bumper sticker. Trying to think what it would say using Italian words for each picture...nah...that wouldn't work at all!
someone named their child Ikea?! ha
I have a love/hate relationship with the store. I've been to the one in Rome. I can only go first thing in the morning. It gets packed.
It's the only place that sell the candy Swedish Fish so I might make a run (the metro than the bus) just to get some dill potato chips and the candy.
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