This Christmas, IKEA reminded Australians that in the eyes of children, the best toy ever doesn’t come in a box - it’s their parents.

We interviewed children around Australia describing the ‘best toy ever’. When each child is surprised by someone special arriving home, we realise the answer isn’t something found at IKEA. Because playtime doesn’t truly begin until mum and dad join in. IKEA’s message: time spent playing together is the most valuable gift of all.

The video launched online on 13th December. Timing was important to create the biggest impact on a modest budget. We knew our message would resonate emotionally with twelve days to go until Christmas, but also timed it to stand out most from the wave of retail and discount advertising that was breaking over the market.

Online video allowed us to efficiently reach the growing number of people doing their Christmas shopping online – a move supported by the fact that 50% of Youtube views were on tablets. We seeded the film to influential Australian parenting blogs, as well as using Youtube TrueView and Facebook video to further target families, ensuring minimal wastage and maximum advocacy.

But the reality is the video had to earn the interest we could not afford to buy, and it did so in spades.

The film reached over 1.6+ million Australians on IKEA’s official Youtube and Facebook channels alone, and millions more on sites like Mashable and MamaMia (Australia’s largest parenting website). It also inspired press headlines such as, “An IKEA ad reminds us of the most important present you can give a child”, and, “Best Parenting Ad Ever”.