IKEA Philippines’ campaign advertisement drew cheers online for its inclusive coming out story.
The Swedish furniture brand released this commercial titled “Hapag: Paskong Pinoy Series” on YouTube and its other social media channels on December 12.
“Are you ready to welcome more this Christmas?” the caption reads.
The video is about a son who is trying to come out to his father and meet his boyfriend in time for Christmas.
It was also shown that he had been texting his boyfriend in secret to update him on whether or not he already came out.
His boyfriend, meanwhile, comforted him every time he missed a chance to tell his father about his gender preference.
The twist happened when the father caught his son and his boyfriend hugging at their gate.
The father never confronted them.
Instead, when his son finally introduced his boyfriend to him, he appeared to have walked away from the conversations and into his room.
It turned out that the father is a drag artist, with the drag name “Ramona.”
The video ended with a big group hug and then a hearty Noche Buena.
The furniture brand then promoted its product—a black extendable table.
The video has since garnered 2,799 views on YouTube.
Its message and story soon caught the attention of several users, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
They expressed how much the advertisement moved them.
“IKEA’s Christmas ad is (pleading emoji),” a Twitter user said.
“Bawling uncontrollably,” another user tweeted with a pleading emoji.
Other online users, meanwhile, congratulated the team behind the advertisement.
“Hindi basta commercial, may kwento at may meaning. Congratulations to the team who made this so beautiful,” one Facebook user said.
“Less words and easy to understand the message! Cheers,” a YouTube commented.
“Great Ads Ikea! Sa lahat ng mga taong nahihirapan mag out and mag-open, that’s okay, kung hindi ka man o hindi ka pa ready okay lang yun, it takes time,” another Facebook user said.
This was not the first time that IKEA Philippines featured the local drag industry.
Last October, former contestants of “Drag Race Philippines” Season 1 Viñas DeLuxe, Eva Le Queen and Minty Fresh made online buzz after they promoted IKEA’s new furniture items by showcasing the materials in their outfits.
“Category is… Halloween drag reimagined with IKEA home furnishings,” the caption read.
