Ad Campaigns
IKEA launches first campaign in India
MUMBAI: We all know by now that Swedish brand IKEA is all set to foray into the Indian market. The launch of the brand has been a much awaited one. Not just has the opening of the first store in Hyderabad been an eagerly awaited event, there has also been immense curiosity around the brand communication, with IKEA being known for its great campaigns the world over.
The wait is over now, as the brand released its launch communication recently. Dentsu Impact, the creative agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, that was in news for being chosen by IKEA as partners for India, in August 2016, is behind the first ever India communication campaign.
In the words of IKEA India country marketing manager Ulf Smedberg, “We are so excited to launch our IKEA brand in India. We think that together with our creative partner, Dentsu Impact, we have created a strong communication that will be liked and hopefully loved by everyone in India. It’s about how IKEA helps people in embracing change for a brighter tomorrow by providing affordable solutions for your home, no matter of your living situation or size of your wallet. For us it is important that all we do should be relevant yet aspirational and connects India and IKEA in a fun, distinct yet very unique way.”
Speaking on the campaign, Dentsu Impact President Amit Wadhwa said, “The IKEA launch is not like any other launch. It is a brand loved all over the world, not just for its outstanding home furnishing solutions but also for some great communication. Working with the IKEA team to create the first ever communication for India was a truly enriching and amazing experience for us. We are very happy with where we have reached in this journey, and as we go along, you will see many different elements coming together to create a robust and integrated campaign.”
The ad captures playful moments between family members and shows just how amazing our lives at home can be. Each situation brings to life a new perspective to everyday life at home and how IKEA’s home furnishing solutions help make each day brighter and happier. The TVC is warm, playful and something that every Indian family can relate to.
Dentsu Impact Bangalore creative head Amish Sabharwal adds, “You only get to launch IKEA once in India and as a campaign this is going to be a truly integrated piece of work out of Dentsu Impact. There is a very exciting digital first content series planned which is going to be a first of many novel initiatives on the brand. Also a lot of Hyderabad-centric activations, on grounds and the works.”
The brand’s communication is live on TV and OOH, and is expected to release a set of digital films, amongst other things, soon as well. The IKEA store is slated to open on 9 August in Hyderabad.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
