Ikea’s latest magazine ad in Sweden has a bizarre twist: it has a built-in pregnancy test.
Swedish agency Åkestam Holst’s first 2018 ad for the retailer is an advertisement for cribs. If you happen to be in the market for a crib (i.e. you’re pregnant), then you can score a discount on your purchase by peeing on the ad to reveal a coupon.
The bottom of the ad uses a similar technology to your standard pregnancy test, except rather than seeing a simple “yes” message when it detects your pregnancy, the page will give you deals, AdWeek reports.
Ikea wants you to pee on this ad and if you’re pregnant, it'll give you a discount on a crib https://t.co/MjuUiQSkZz pic.twitter.com/wAMXt8IdkJ
— ADWEEK (@Adweek) January 9, 2018
Presumably, you’ll then need to bring the urine-soaked paper to your local Ikea to redeem it.
Requiring a medical test to get a discount on a product that you would literally only need if the test results are positive is certainly a little out of the ordinary and can be construed as a sexist (which wouldn’t be the first time for Ikea) and potentially alienating move by the retailer.
It also means cashiers in Sweden will need to be ready to collect some pee-covered coupons and expecting moms will need to carry them around in their purse, which sounds like an awful time for everyone involved.
