Smörgåsbloggers

"It's like Santa for your vagina."

This is the most refreshing marketing about menstruation I've ever seen. Not apologetic. No tip toeing. Funny. Real.

And the business idea is good too (I wonder if there's a plan for irregular women, like rush delivery service).

Hot Malm sounds like it’s NSFW and plays on that category throughout the execution. In fact all the site does is show photos of MALM beds with phnar phnar titles.

Billed as a side project of Asa Block of Droga5, Hot Malm is (almost certainly) not an official IKEA USA piece of work, although it does link to the US site. It also features the IKEA Monkey, of whom nobody is apparently yet bored.

It probably won’t stay live for long so catch it now if you must.

It’s not so much the idea that grabbed me as the fact that it exists at all. While IKEA works hard behind the scenes on getting the brand across in the most market-appropriate, strategically targeted way, everyone beyond the big blue box engages with it, or not, in any way they please. Fan sites are not uncommon and it would be remiss not to acknowledge there are fierce critics too. Hot Malm is different, coming from an ad industry perspective it’s a knowing piece of fun. I’d guess there’s affection in there but it’s being used to wield a pointy stick at this most famously practical brand.

It was Canada Day on Monday (mark it on your calendar for next year and join in the BBQing, beer drinking fun).

To celebrate, the beer that bears my nation's name placed fridges throughout Europe... fridges that could only be opened be a certain kind of person.

One of the greatest things a brand can hope for from a consumer relationship is devotion and admiration. This translates into active participation in the form of not just purchasing, but advocating. Take IKEA Hackers for example. It has become a thriving online community where people share ideas about how to use IKEA products in creative and innovative ways.

But relationships can be scary, even for big brands. You can't control the other party in a relationship, you can only trust and respect them and be responsible for your own actions.

Sometimes in a relationship it's necessary to make it clear you don't like what the other party is doing. I think it's important for consumers to speak up about what they want and expect from brands. I also think it's important for brands to protect their intellectual property and identity, but how and when can be a bit of a conundrum. There are, of course, straightforward situations where a brand would want to take action, but what about all the grey zones? Would IKEA be in the right to send IKEA Hackers a cease and desist order? Probably. Should IKEA break up with IKEA Hackers? It seems a good relationship to me.  

I've been thinking over all this because world Nutella day has been cancelled. That's right. You cannot officially celebrate the beloved chocolatey hazelnut spread this year. The day was founded in 2007 by co-author of "The Unofficial Guide to Nutella: History, Stories, & Recipes", Sara Rosso. She announced the news of her court ordered break-up with Nutella on the World Nutella Day website, calling it both "a surprise and a disappointment" (like most break-ups tend to be).

As Sara and thousands of other Nutella enthusiasts try to deal with this, my question is: With spoon firmly in hand, ready to shovel comfort into the pit of loss, do you think mourners will reach for a jar of Nutella or perhaps a tub of Ben & Jerry's?

***UPDATE***