100 Cats Takeover IKEA Store (Video)

Have you seen this video called, “Herding Cats”? I viewed it via Apartment Therapy and then watched it a few more times to try to figure it out. I’m still not sure what to make of it. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s the premise:

The mega-design store, IKEA did an “experiment” to test their furniture. They released 100 cats into their store in Wembley, London. While it seems to be purely promotional (it’s been covered by the media worldwide), is the point to show customers that maybe the 100 cats do what cats do naturally – enjoy a bout of mischievous behavior and then relish in napping on a couch? My cat would go for that any day! Fun to watch, but I hope not too many customers with cat allergies entered the store after the “experiment.”

IKEA’s “Herding Cats”

What are your thoughts about this? Is it a genius marketing tool for the furniture giant, or is this just odd?

Read more: Cats, Conscious Consumer, EcoNesting, Home, Videos, Videos, cats, home, ikea, shopping, stores, video

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Barbara V.

10:39AM PDT on May 25, 2012

Well, maybe they took over Ikea, but they're even better at taking over your heart!

send a green star

June L.

5:44AM PDT on May 16, 2012

WOW!! MUST BE GREAT FURNITURE

Winn A.

5:37PM PDT on May 13, 2012

It would have been so much better if they had used shelter cats and had an adopt-a-thon to find loving and forever homes.

Bette-Ann L.

9:15PM PDT on May 11, 2012

If only IKEA had thought to use rescue shelter cats I would applaud their efforts. Meaningless otherwise when you think of the statistics "NEARLY 10 THOUSAND homeless pets are euthanized DAILY in the USA". Yup, that's the reality!

Don't buy while shelter cats die!

paula D.

1:46PM PDT on Apr 21, 2012

Wow! That place looks like it would be a cat's dream~ to be able to have so many hiding spots.

Cindy J.

8:27AM PDT on Apr 2, 2012

America is too uptight to have commercials like this. Yes, I believe it is really just a commercial not something odd as you asked. Most of the cats seemed to have the laid back personality necessary to do the commercial. Only a few swats to let you know whos boss. It appears most of them are enjoying themselves. I'd have loved to be there to watch the shoot, but I'm pretty sure only one of my boys would have qualified to run around and not hide under a couch. I'm dissapointed they didn't have any black cats...but maybe London doesn't have as many as America? thanks for sharing!

Anne G.

12:16AM PDT on Mar 25, 2012

It was funny idea. What's with the comments that the cats looked stressed? They looked like cats having a day out exploring doing what cats do. Get over it.

Pat W.

11:59PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

What a commendable creative idea. Kudos!

Sarkku V.

12:06PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Hmm.. Cats. They do not always get along. This was quite an experiment!

Kari Sioux G.

12:00PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

I love watching cats. There was stress involved here, with the noise, the human expectation and nervousness, and a group of strangers with which to mingle. Was the ad the bit of a snippet at the end of the video? It was a wonderful, peaceful and heartwarming piece of film, so kudos to IKEA and hope that all the cats were sent home safely. Again, I just adore watching cats!