The campaign is built around several key pieces of IKEA furniture that are available to buy on IKEA’s digital commerce platform.

The campaign was built around three films, rendered in richly detailed 3D and were designed to subvert and parody the conventions of traditional horror films which are popular during the Halloween season.

The fear that a monster could be hiding in the darkest corners of their bedroom is a fear shared by children the world over. It has been the basis of children’s stories, films and animations for generations. During Halloween in October, many Western cultures embrace the idea of a scary holiday by dressing up as monsters, watching scary movies and decorating their houses with spooky decorations.

Each film opens in a dark bedroom with a floating camera creeping towards a dark, shadowy piece of furniture. Music rises in tension as the camera gets closer and closer, indicating that something unseen may be waiting to jump out. Then, with the click of a switch, a nightlight illuminates the furniture, turning the scene from a tense scene to a peaceful one. The music stops, giving way to peaceful evening ambient. It’s clear from the light there is nothing scary hiding in the furniture. The line “Monsters not included” appears over the scene.

Young families love IKEA furniture for a peaceful sleep, But children often worry about monsters hiding in the dark. This fear only increases during “spooky season”.

IKEA turned this fear into a product benefit with "Monsters Not Included”: A campaign that subverted the classic Halloween ad format by showing no monsters whatsoever.

IKEA featured furniture that monsters traditionally make their homes: under the bed, inside closets and behind curtains.

The campaign literally shone a light at these products, showing them to be 100% monster free while highlighting their cosy design.

The campaign captured the attention of the press on Halloween night, providing record coverage far beyond the media scope of the campaign.

The Drum magazine called it their “Best Halloween campaign”. Design Taxi covered the campaign in depth, stating that “IKEA is playing ghostbuster this Halloween”, placing the campaign into the culture of Spooky Season. The campaign was also featured in trade press, including Adweek, Campaign, Muse by Clio, B&T and Horizont.

The attention from the coverage, and the ads themselves, saw a 52% increase in online store traffic during the campaign’s run from 18th - 31st October, causing a 13% increase in all items featured in the “Monsters Not Included” adverts.

By the end of the campaign, the films alone had reached 7.3mil viewers.

The fear that a monster could be hiding in the darkest corners of their bedroom is a fear shared by children the world over. It has been the basis of children’s stories, films and animations for generations. During Halloween in October, many Western cultures embrace the idea of a scary holiday by dressing up as monsters, watching scary movies and decorating their houses with spooky decorations. This is intended to be fun and playful, but for some more sensitive children it is a time of tension. The IKEA campaign was designed to remind everyone that Halloween is just for fun and there is nothing scary in reality, so everyone can get a good night’s sleep without any fear or nightmares.