IKEA found a cool way to remind us that products aren’t bought for what they are, but what they make possible.

Price wars usually make numbers smaller.

IKEA went and made them way, WAY bigger.

In a new “Emotional Pricing” campaign from Belgium, the retailer lists the normal price of an item, then adds a second one that looks almost absurd.

Image: IKEA

A sofa costs €0.00000063 per jump for joy.

A dog toy costs €0.0000024 per tail wag.

A bedside lamp costs €0.000000018 per bedtime story.

The math is playful (and probably not even calculable).

The marketing is more serious, though.

The campaign reframes price as value over time instead of cost at the cash register.

More importantly, it reminds us why we buy products in the first place.

Nobody shops for a sofa because they need four cushions and a wooden frame.

They crave movie nights, conversations, or comfy Sunday naps.

Or maybe kids bouncin’ on the cushions when they think nobody is watching.

I wrote in I Need That that customers are compelled to buy the better version of life those products create.

And the most compelling products solve practical problems while opening the door to experiences people genuinely want.

THAT’s why I enjoy watching IKEA’s marketing around the world.

Different agencies continue to allen-bolt together fresh ways of mentally configuring the same products in our brains.

Whether it’s football flags becoming shopping lists or itty-bitty costs per joyful moment, the product remains the hero by focusing on the life around it.

Perhaps the best positioning exercise any product team can ask is this:

What precious moment are we delivering?

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.