Pee On This IKEA Ad If You Really, Really Want a Coupon

In a marketing stunt that is either extremely clever, or extremely gross, IKEA has unveiled a magazine ad that doubles as a coupon –

If you pee on it first.

For real. And you thought putting those darned pieces of furniture together was the most baffling thing about IKEA.

The home-furnishings retailer is running the ad in a women’s magazine in its home country of Sweden. “Peeing on this ad may change your life,” it reads. The full-page advertisement features a crib that sells for 995 Swedish krona, or about $122. “Pee on the marked area and wait a moment,” the ad instructs readers. “If you are expecting, you will get a surprise right here in the ad.”

And anyone else picking up the magazine after you’re through is likely to get quite a surprise as well.

At any rate, the promised “surprise” is a new price that reveals itself, turning the ad into a… uh… “golden ticket” that allows you to get the crib for half price.

And the surprise for IKEA cashiers is that people are actually going to hand these coupons to them. Hope their employer has stocked up on hand sanitizer.

The “marked area” of the ad uses technology similar to what’s used in home pregnancy tests. So only mothers-to-be will have what it takes to “activate” the ad and get the discount. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck paying full price for the crib – and if you’re not pregnant and don’t know anyone who is, what are you doing buying a crib anyway?

The ad was created by a Swedish ad agency, which has managed to sound high-minded about the cheeky concept. “Careful selection of materials, together with a controlled capillary flow have been crucial for the success of this project,” it said in a statement. “Technical advancements made during the work with this campaign have the potential to improve medical diagnostics.”

It also has the potential to polarize IKEA customers. Reaction online has been mostly positive, if incredulous, so far. “This might be the weirdest way to get a discount ever,” one Twitter user wrote. “Definitely the coolest pee-based advertising,” another offered. “A lot of advertising just pisses off people. This is the first time I’ve seen an ad that gets people pissing on,” a third commenter added.

One might shudder to think at the potential of this ad starting a trend. Need a discount on toilet paper? Just take this ad and… well, never mind.

But for an ad that’s only running in a single Swedish magazine, IKEA has already managed to get its money’s worth by getting people talking.

Unfortunately, if you live in the U.S., you’ll have to pay full price for your baby furniture. So don’t go peeing all over your IKEA catalog hoping for discounts. But if you happen to find yourself in Sweden and in need of a crib, well –

Urine luck!

(Sorry.)