Ikea can always be relied upon for some clever advertising (check out some examples here, here, and here!). The recent "cat-alogue" activity generated lots of buzz in the marketing trade press, but not being much of a cat person myself, I wasn't entirely won over with the idea of an Ikea store over-run  by some furniture-fancying moggies. 

Yes, it made for some engaging creative, but for the next few months I shall be carefully checking all my Ikea purchases for wayward cat hairs (and have they manage to round all the animals up? Or is there now a band of feral cats living under the sofas in Brent Park, surviving on meatballs and gravalax purloined from the Ikea canteen?)

The recent "Party Kitchens" activity is, in my opinion, much more entertaining. I love a house party as much as the next raver, and the best house party experience can be guaranteed by following these two simple rules:

1. Make sure the party is in somebody else's house. Cleaning up is not cool, and no matter how hard you clean, an old half-empty can of lager will always appear behind the sofa/behind the TV/in a plant pot etc. 

2. The kitchen is ALWAYS the best place. The kitchen is where you can find the food, the drink, and as any house party veteran knows - the glasses! Drinking vodka and coke out of a mug never tastes right. 

Ikea, in their canny Swedish wisdom have chosen to focus on the kitchen's role in the house party as part of its recent campaign. 

Anyone in their late thirties might remember the early 80s track, "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" by Jona Lewie - a quirky bit of late 70s synth pop celebrating the plight of the lonely man in the kitchen at parties. Well thirty years on, kitchens are cool, and Ikea has enlisted upcoming band "Man Like Me" and their modern take on the classic hit for its latest video and TV spot. 

The TV spot is, well just a TV spot, but the video is brilliant. Not only can viewers enjoy the slinky modern electro version of "Kitchen", but they can also use the video as a dynamic online catalogue. Moving the mouse across various items in the clip allows users to click through to product information about various items. 

Although Ikea aren't the first to produce an interactive video catalogue, they are one of the first to air a TV spot using the same creative. I for one was driven to to search for the clip online as I wanted to hear more of the song! 

“We know from insight that people spend most of their time at home in the kitchen - using it as a social, living space as well as a place to cook. And it’s widely accepted that the best place to be at a party is in the kitchen,” says ad agency Mother, who masterminded the ad. “Because of the functional aspects of its design and durability, the best party kitchen to be in is naturally an IKEA kitchen.”

The Ikea version of the "Kitchen" has been made available on Amazon and iTunes. Pop boffins will also be pleased to spot Mr Lewie himself as one of the party guests. 

Verdict? Brilliant execution, amazing soundtrack. Well done Ikea, we expect to see some awards heading Mother's way...