In the marketing world, the line between an embarrassing mistake and a well-crafted opportunity is a notoriously blurry one. Companies often say their gaffes were actually intentional, leaving many to decide for themselves. Was this the case with IKEA too?
IKEA Bahrain recently ran a campaign for its mattress line with a large ad banner on the storefront, which had English and Arabic slogans.
While the English slogan read ” Create your perfect night’s sleep”, the Arabic slogan read “The same but in Arabic”, with the translator having taken the cue quite literally.
This caused a huge uproar on social media. IKEA recently fixed the advert, not by taking down the banner but by inserting an additional slogan in Arabic that read “This is what happens when we don’t get a good night’s sleep. Enjoy your sleep”.
This has been met with immense praise by social media, lauding IKEA Bahrain for handling the situation well.
Source: Defend Bahrain