Submitted by OgilvyAgency IPI Score 95/100

Taste the Future

PR & Communications

Ogilvy's INGO Stockholm built an IKEA recruitment campaign that invited candidates to a job interview to try experimental 3D-printed plant-based meatballs.

Case in 60 seconds

IKEA needed to recruit imaginative talent and, at the same time, make plant-based eating feel desirable rather than a compromise.

IKEA's iconic meatball is the perfect, familiar way into an unfamiliar conversation about the future of sustainable food.

Invite candidates to a job interview where they taste experimental plant-based meatballs, a literal taste of where the brand is heading.

INGO Stockholm produced the meatballs with a 3D printer and framed the interview experience as the campaign 'Taste the Future'.

The case-study page presents the idea itself as the result and reports no applications, reach or engagement figures.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Imaginative, forward-thinking candidates IKEA wanted to hire, and a broader audience receptive to sustainable food.
Plant-based eating is often framed as a sacrifice, which sits awkwardly with a brand whose most loved food is the traditional meatball.
IKEA had to advance a sustainability goal without making its signature product feel under threat.
IKEA positioned itself as making healthier, more sustainable eating easy, desirable and affordable, with the meatball leading the way.
Anchoring a new idea to a familiar, well-loved product makes change feel appealing rather than a compromise.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Experimental plant-based meatballs produced with a 3D printer
  • Job-interview experience framed as 'Taste the Future'
  • Recruitment campaign communications

Partners

  • Ogilvy (INGO Stockholm)

Participation mechanic

  • Candidates were invited to a job interview to taste the 3D-printed plant-based meatballs

Creator role

  • Not disclosed

Why Ogilvy's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Using IKEA's most iconic product made an abstract sustainability goal tangible and appealing.

  2. 2

    Turning a job interview into a product experience gave the recruitment message a memorable, shareable hook.

  3. 3

    3D-printed meatballs signalled innovation, matching the forward-thinking talent IKEA wanted to attract.

  4. 4

    Framing plant-based eating as 'the future' reframed it as an opportunity rather than a compromise.

Related Case studies