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IKEA accused of teasing Denmark
I recently wrote about the language of IKEA and how the global furniture giant names all of its products. If you remember, many pieces of furniture, like sofas, wardrobes and bookshelves, are named after places in Norway and Sweden. Denmark on the other hand gets stuck with doormats and carpets. Apparently this has caused a recent Danish uproar, blaming IKEA for naming products of lesser value after places in Denmark as a way to spite it."It [IKEA's naming system] is too systematic for this to be random because IKEA is a very professional company. This can only be a way of teasing Denmark," stated Nyhedsavisen, a free daily Danish newspaper, on Valentine's Day.
This may all seem like a joke, but some Danes are taking it very seriously, as pointed out by Assistant Political Communication Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Klaus Kjøller, "It seems to be an example of cultural imperialism. IKEA has chosen the objects with the lowest value and given them Danish names."
Cultural imperialism you say? I didn't realize IKEA could be such a touchy subject. But then again, would you want a carpet named after you when other countries get the flashier items like beds and coffee tables?
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What strange things have been found on planes?
Click the image to read the bizarre story...
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Denmark
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 5)
thorkell Feb 27th 2008 12:21PM
Actually, maybe this whole naming business is a sign of a deep respect held by the Swedes for the Danes--the rugs and doormats and carpets are the only Ikea products that don't fall to pieces.
Yeah, I said it.
Damiel Feb 27th 2008 3:50AM
Maybe the reason for not using Dansih names is because Danish is incomprehensible, even for the Danes themselves. :-)
Look at this clip from the a Norwegian comedy series (it is in english... and danish...)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk
Esteban Feb 28th 2008 5:12PM
Erhh... Pretty bizarre topic with comments to match!
I live in Denmark and I never heard of the story until now - so I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'uproar'. You'll often find that a free daily will go quite far for ad revenue in an overly competitive market. But I do find the story quite hilarious, especially when considering the strong irony prevalent in danish humor - I honestly can't imagine a KU assistant prof. commenting on this without it being slightly tongue-in-cheek..
Wow. I'm actually commenting on this. Guess I'm one of the babies too, eh?
Pfft.. Babies...
Adrian Apr 15th 2008 5:40PM
Re "5. Danish design is incredible, even if IKEA does name its
doormats after Danish locations."
Just for the record:
"It made for a great story but, alas, it is bogus. In February, a
journalist from Nyhedsavisen, a free Danish tabloid paper, called up
Professor Kjoller asking if he had noticed the anti-Danish bias in
the latest IKEA catalogue. Kjoller, who had not seen the catalogue,
let alone completed an empirical study of it, played along with the
journalist because he assumed, correctly, that the article was being
written with a Danish tongue firmly planted in cheek. Since then,
however, Kjoller has been deluged with media enquires and found
himself repeatedly explaining that the whole thing was just a bit of
fun.
It is too late for that, of course. The IKEA naming scandal will now
be added to the long list of false brand-naming stories. "
http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/03/naming-pranks-a.html
Adrian Apr 15th 2008 5:50PM
Sorry, it should be
Just for the record:
”It made for a great story but, alas, it is bogus. In February, a journalist from Nyhedsavisen, a free Danish tabloid paper, called up Professor Kjoller asking if he had noticed the anti-Danish bias in the latest IKEA catalogue. Kjoller, who had not seen the catalogue, let alone completed an empirical study of it, played along with the journalist because he assumed, correctly, that the article was being written with a Danish tongue firmly planted in cheek. Since then, however, Kjoller has been deluged with media enquires and found himself repeatedly explaining that the whole thing was just a bit of fun.
It is too late for that, of course. The IKEA naming scandal will now be added to the long list of false brand-naming stories.”
http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/03/naming-pranks-a.html