I discovered the new IKEA Dream Kitchen concept thanks to Adverblog. It's a genuinely innovative creation by leading Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors. This snapshot I captured whilst wandering through various kitchens. It looks more like a scene from an ad for Smirnoff than IKEA.
This gets the 'you must go to the website' stamp from me. The thing I love most is that the potential of online as a marketing medium is being explored. It's refreshing to see. I see too many examples of websites that look like online versions of brochures.
The IKEA dream kitchen site pulls me into and allows me to walk through it and twist and turn as I choose. It's similar to walking around in a virtual world like Second Life.
Because of this, IKEA means something more to me. I have connected with IKEA at a different emotional level. They have my attention. But I still don't like the way IKEA trap me in those humongous stores. They take hours to get through as I follow the arrows on the floor. It's like being in a maze. I feel differently about IKEA in their online world. There I'm free to explore. Perhaps the virtual world will influence the way we experience the real world?