Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia’s latest campaign for IKEA is designed to raise awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer by inserting IKEA’s popular ‘Kransborre’ cushion with a lifelike lump. 

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in Saudi Arabia, yet Saudi women are only reminded do their check-ups once per year during annual breast cancer awareness campaigns.  

To remind people of the importance of self-examination all year long in an impactful yet culturally respectful way, Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia decided to use IKEA’s ‘Kransborre’ cushion as an ongoing awareness tool and a visual prompt to positively change behaviour. Etched with the words, ‘Don’t  Sleep On It – Early detection saves lives’, the cushion’s regular tags were replaced with tags explaining how to check for lumps. 

Mohammed Sehly, creative director at Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia says: “Talking about breast cancer is a delicate subject, we needed to create an effective reminder for women to do their self examinations all year long and not only in one month every year.” 

These Kransborre limited-edition cushions were distributed during Breast Cancer Awareness month and will now live in people’s homes year-round.

Mohammed Bahmishan, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia, says: “We wanted to grab women’s attention and make an impactful statement. Cushions are part of our furniture, so why not use them as a call-to-action that reminds women that it's your time to look after yourself. Waiting is always a risk when early detection can save lives.”