IKEA spoofs Apple iPad in new catalog video.
Apple may be unveiling the iPhone 6 at a scheduled Apple media event on September 9, but IKEA has preempted that announced with something even bigger: the bookbook. At only 8mm thin and weighing less than 400g, the bookbook is a wireless device with an eternal battery life, a tactile touch interface, instantaneous page loading, easy bookmarking, and it’s being given away completely free. Check out the reveal video for yourself:
In fewer than 24 hours, the video has already surpassed 1.5 million views, and the overwhelming reception to the gag has been positive. I’ll admit – for the first dozen seconds, they had me. I felt my stomach churning as the inspirational piano melody accompanied the vacuous and pompous marketing stock phrase, “Once in a while, something comes along that changes the way we live.” But once I realized it was a parody, the video had me grinning. Well played, IKEA. Well played.
The 2015 IKEA catalog bookbook video was produced by a company in Singapore called BBH, a spokesperson told The Escapist, and was intended as a satire/homage to Apple “done in a really cute way.” Homage isn’t the word I would use – loving mockery, perhaps – but what especially resonated with me is how easily this video could substitute for an endorsement of the book over a digital reading device. In our increasingly paperless world, there’s something charming about the feel of a physical book. As the convenience of digital devices continues to replace them, I don’t think books will ever truly be phased out, but they may have to find a new place in the market as items of prestige.
