IKEA, Scoot put out parody ads based on stolen bus stop bench at Braddell Road
Trust Swedish furniture giant IKEA and low cost airline Scoot not to sit around when it comes to an opportunity to make parody advertisements based on a viral story.
On Tuesday (9 October), Tan Ke Wei, a 22-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced in the State Courts to a seven-day short detention order for stealing a metal bench from a bus stop along Braddell Road on 14 June last year.
Tan dismantled the bench by unscrewing the bolts and placed it in a trash bag. He wanted to bring the bench home as he was planning to design his flat based on a bus stop concept.
The Land Transport Authority said in court documents that the bus stop bench cost $1,500.
The story of Tan’s somewhat comical stunt was widely shared on social media on Tuesday.
IKEA posted an ad on its Facebook page on Thursday to promote its “Industriell” light grey bench priced at $159 on its Facebook page, saying that there is “no dismantling required” for the product. In a reference to the court case, IKEA wrote in its post, “Bring home a way more affordable bench from our store (not the bus stop).”
Just hours after Tan was sentenced, Scoot put out an ad on its Facebook page, calling out to customers to “get off the bench and hop on board to your next holiday! Our seats to Southeast Asia and beyond are on sale from $55 (P.S. you can’t take them home).”
Scoot trumpeted its “Great Benches Seats At A Steal” in the ad. The airline cheekily inserted a $1,500 flying price tag behind a passenger dragging an aircraft seat.
Guess IKEA and Scoot have both set a new “benchmark” in parody ads.
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Man who stole metal bench from bus stop given 7-day short detention order
