IKEA’s Halloween essentials were the things viewers hid behind

When a horror film became too frightening, the nearest cushion offered somewhere to hide. IKEA’s “Halloween Essentials” campaign took that familiar reaction and made it a reason to look again at everyday soft furnishings.

Created by INGO for IKEA Al-Futtaim in October 2025, the work presented products people reached for during tense movie nights as their seasonal essentials. The KLOTSTARR cushion, SMÅNUNNEÖRT and MYRULL were central to the creative.

The joke came from their improvised use. Items bought for comfort became shields when viewers wanted to keep watching a scary film without seeing everything on the screen.

A familiar reaction gave the products another role

The campaign began with the experience of watching horror films at home with loved ones. As tension built, viewers could clutch a cushion, pull fabric over their heads or hide behind the nearest soft furnishing.

IKEA and INGO used that behaviour to connect the products with Halloween. The moment supplied both the occasion and the action, with the furnishings already close enough to grab.

Calling them “Halloween Essentials” gave the range a temporary seasonal identity. Their role followed something people already did with them during a frightening scene, making the product message part of the joke.

The photography showed the instinct to hide

Photographer Ale Burset captured the products in use, with the fabric held, gripped or pulled into place as a barrier against the screen.

That action gave the still images a clear story. The soft furnishing occupied the space between a frightened viewer and whatever they were watching. The audience could recognise the gesture without needing to see the horror film itself.

The approach also kept the products visible. Texture, shape and the way each item was handled became part of the scene, connecting the comic reaction with recognisable home furnishings.

The movie-night setting kept Halloween inside the home

The idea gave IKEA a specific role in a Halloween night spent watching films. Its products were part of the surroundings and became useful to the viewer at the moment of a scare.

The humour depended on a small contradiction. Someone had chosen to watch a frightening film, then reached for an object to block their view of it.

That made the campaign’s shield idea easy to understand. A cushion or covering could not change what was happening in the film, but it could offer a brief retreat while the viewer waited for the frightening moment to pass.

Print, outdoor and film carried the same observation

The campaign rolled out across MENA, with a significant focus on the UAE. Print and outdoor placements were supported by social content and a regional film, with activity running into early November 2025.

Burset and Mariano Legname Garcia directed the film, with production by Timing! EssenceMediacom handled media planning.

Across those formats, the premise stayed close to IKEA’s products and their place in daily life. Halloween supplied the occasion, while an ordinary reaction on the sofa supplied the creative idea.

Credits

Brand: IKEA Al-Futtaim. Campaign: Halloween Essentials. Agency: INGO. Chief Creative Officers: Liz Taylor and Daniel Fisher. Executive Creative Directors: Nicolás López Bravo and Fernando Montero González. Art Director: Andrea López-Boado Rodríguez. Copywriter: Anna Victoria Breinfalk. Photographer: Ale Burset. Film Directors: Ale Burset and Mariano Legname Garcia. Production: Timing! Executive Producer: Marcela Moracci. Producer: Isabel Fuertes. Retouching: Eduardo Navarro. Media Planning: EssenceMediacom. GM Marketing, Communication and Interior Design, IKEA Al-Futtaim: Carla Klumpenaar. Region: MENA, including the UAE. Campaign period: October–early November 2025.