http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z7vXP3tHzhA
I think we can assume that Britain is split 50/50 when it comes to the dog-cat debate. Personally, I’m a cat person. Not to say I dislike dogs – they just scare me a bit with their jumpy-uppiness and barking. So maybe I’m biased, but I really, really love the new Ikea ad – Happy Inside.

(And there’s an interesting ‘making of’ video too – check it out here)

It makes me feel…well, happy inside! Just like I feel when I wake up on a dreary Monday to find my cat Colin curled up under the duvet next to me, resting his head on my arm and purr-snoring. I feel the same way when we arrive home and he’s there on the garden path, in the same place, waiting to welcome us.

Naturally then, I really identify with the idea behind this campaign – as do the 8,979 people (so far) who have ‘Liked’ the Ikea Cats Facebook page and uploaded images of their own happy, homely cats (often pointing out proudly that said feline has positioned itself strategically on a item of Ikea furniture).

For the equally large and effusive population of dog people in the UK, however, this ad will leave them cold. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that, subject aside, this is a beautifully produced, stunningly simple campaign – in both concept and sentiment. It’s got a BIG IDEA that makes it work, effortlessly across traditional and digital media. It features some captivating music. It strikes a personal chord – essential for viral seeding. It encourages others to interact with it via social media (every cat owner believes their baby is the cutest – and they want to show him/her off to the world). And perhaps most brilliantly, thanks to auto-complete on Google and the Apps store, fans will be led ‘organically’ to the Ikea CATalogue, as they perform digital searches for the campaign. It is, in every way, the epitome of a brilliant integrated campaign in 2010.