Change is in the air

With a new president in the world's (still) most influential nation, the US brand is about to change. At least this is what the world, and most US citizens, hope for.

Like many other companies, Swedish furniture company IKEA surfed on the Obama change wave, and launched the outdoor campaign Embrace change 09. A full scale replica of the Oval Office was placen at Union Station in Washington and furnished by the furniture giant. Barack Obama was offered free furniture if he chose to furnish the Oval Office with IKEA's products.

I'm quite disappointed with IKEA's choice of furniture. Being Swedish, I regard them as having a better sense of interior decoration. And I also wonder if the chosen furniture would be Obama's chioce. I hope not.



In an online part of the campaign, even non-presidents have a chance to furnish the Oval Office. The link Change begins at home takes the user to a virtual office to furnish. Quite funny, but they could have made more realistic furniture graphics.

Another company that is cleverly hitch-hiking on the Obama fever is upmarket pre-designed corporate id oneline shop johnlook.com. With the new concept, Look for change, you can easily get you Obama-like business cards, complete with the same typface (Gotham, by Tobias Frere-Jones, made for GQ magazine in 2001) that the American president has been using in his campaign. Clever John!