This is not a game

Bullying is not playing. Bullying has real and long-lasting effects on both the victim and the perpetrator, and that’s a grown-up’s problem.

For this Pink Shirt Day, IKEA & UNICEF present “This is not a game”. Repurposing IKEA’s famous teddy bear Fabler Bjorn – the ultimate symbol of innocence, as a canvas to depict the effects of bullying, the campaign achieved the sole purpose of making the public dislike it. Literally. On the spot.

The campaign resulted in 1.3 million impressions, got Tier 1 media coverage & was featured on live TV on the kids’ version of X Factor.

The in-store installation reached the 10,000 dislikes mark within just five days, despite two of those being the National Liberation Day and the 1st of March, which is a huge celebration in Bulgaria.

Twelve PR packages containing Bjorn’s new look in a Barbie-like box were sent to 12 influencers. All of them reacted, which is a precedent considering the saturated influencer market and the 0 EUR influencer marketing budget. The influencers created over 57 pieces of content on the topic, with some of them depicted crying live.