Ikea's guerrilla ads annoy Vancouver retailer

A Vancouver businessman is furious after the Ikea home products company spray-painted an advertisement outside his store.

Kevin Kelly is working to open a new skateboard shop in the 3300 block of Commercial Drive, near E 16th Avenue.

Last Friday, he says he finished painting an outside wall, only to return Monday to find it had been tagged with a painted slogan.

"There was a giant, bright yellow advertisement spray-painted on the front of my building," he said.

The ad is part of a new campaign by Swedish furniture giant Ikea.

Hundreds of similar ads have been painted on sidewalks and buildings throughout Canada.

The ambiguous sign directs consumers to a company website, where they can enter to win an interior makeover for their home.

Kelly said the ad campaign is little more than vandalism.

"I don't appreciate the stress it's given me [or] the fact that, you know, thousands of people are walking by my business and they're paying attention to an Ikea ad and not my business," he said.

Ad is 'absolutely ridiculous'

Kelly said he understands companies are looking for new ways to market, but said Ikea has "stooped to an all-time low.

"Because this is the kind of thing that is usually for grassroots marketing or something like that," he said.

"[Ikea] can afford billboards or television commercials. They are a major corporation, so to be putting their corporate logo on the front of my small business is absolutely ridiculous."

When Kelly complained, he said Ikea apologized for the damages and told him the paint would be removed immediately, but he's not impressed with the cleanup.

"Somebody showed up here with a pressure washer, didn't get much of the yellow off and actually stripped some of the paint off, too," Kelly said.

Ad put up without permission

The City of Vancouver has struggled with the issue of commercial advertising interfering with public and private space in the past.

In 2007, the city ordered a building owner to dismantle a giant rooftop billboard, saying it violated city bylaws.

The city says that same type of bylaw applies to Ikea.

"It's done without permission, it's done on city property, and that's prohibited," said Daniel Paquin, the city's anti-graffiti co-ordinator.

"It's fairly important for us to stop that and send a very strong message."

Ikea has apologized and admitted the 400-sign national campaign was poorly executed.

It blamed the mistake on miscommunication between it and the company contracted to do the job, and promised to remove the stenciled ads.