Ikea brings BDDH on board 6m account

Ikea has appointed Partners BDDH to work alongside lead agency St Luke’s, which holds the furniture retailer’s 6m UK account.

BDDH will work on a project for the Swedish retailer which is aimed at various European markets, including the UK.

The agency will create in-store branding for the retailer’s newly integrated Home Office and Professional Office departments.

The decision to appoint BDDH was made by International Ikea, the company’s European headquarters which are based in Denmark.

Ikea UK head of marketing Matti Narr says: “I am happy with St Luke’s work. Some people say that you can’t build a brand on this kind of radical creative work, but nobody can give me a good explanation why this is so.”

Narr adds: “We appointed BDDH because it has a lot of expertise in the retail sector.”

BDDH also holds the Sainsbury’s Savacentre and Co-op accounts and some BT business.

St Luke’s won the Ikea account two years ago, after the retailer split with its incumbent agency Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO. It has created a number of controversial advertising campaigns since then.

Ads have shouted at customers to “chuck out your chintz”, joked about sacking workers to get better office furniture and most recently told people to “stop being so English”.