IKEA has launched a series of small joyful promotions both as part of its previous campaigns and as standalone mini projects. Kicked off in three different countries, the UK, Poland and France, these initiative are revolving around cats, chairs and carpool, and are united by one thing—the company’s strong dedication to delivering comfort by being eco-friendly (as well as simply friendly), loving and proving the durability of its furniture.

Comparison stands behind any considered choice, and any confident global brand tends to provide its consumers with an opportunity to examine both the positive and negative sides of their products—and sometimes weigh its offerings against goods by other manufacturer. Sometimes, companies also step outside the product world and help compare lots of other things—sexes, automobiles, brothers, tastes, political parties, athletes and more—to help determine which of the two is better, stronger, messier, tastier, faster, more attractive, reliable, sportive, etc.  In this overview, we won’t focus on serious ratings revealing carbon footprint or social impact, like Nike’s Environmental Apparel Design Tool, Timberland’s Eco Index or GoodWill’s rating—instead, as tribute to April Fool’s Day, which was celebrated last Friday, we will focus on humorous and tongue-in-cheek projects.

IKEA, the biggest furniture retailer in the world, has released 2010 Sustainability Report covering the period between September 1, 2009  and August 31, 2010 and outlining the success the company has attained in tackling social and environmental issues. Moreover, the report comprises description of the goals set by IKEA for 2015 pertaining to every stage of the product life.

IKEA is about to find out, who is the messier sex, women or man, at home and suggest solutions to stop all the arguments on this issue. The brand teamed up with the Mother London agency to kick of the latest integrated marketing campaign build on the ‘Peace, Love and Storage’ idea in online media, print and TV in the UK. The official launch of the humorous promotion is slated for tomorrow—April 1 is the international All Fools’ Day, which is a perfect occasion to launch such campaigns.

In the third and the final chapter of our Brands and the City overview, we focused on brands’ projects which helped enrich city canvas and add more elements to the metropolitan life. Here we collected both projects with a social twist, revolving around the idea of making a city a better place to live, and works with a vivid advertising component, such as branded bus shelters, giant interactive billboards and shop windows, which broadened physical borders of the cities.

Yesterday, January 30, IKEA named Kyria Henry the grand prize winner of its ‘Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest.’ After a month-long, online public vote, Ms. Henry has won a year-long sabbatical (worth $100,000) to improve the lives of others through her ‘paws4vets’ program, and over the next year, will share her experience online at www.thelifeimprovementproject.com. Additionally, IKEA is donating $46,844 to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, $1 for every vote cast in the contest.

To reach more consumers, IKEA goes outside and is furnishing street sidewalks with bright and comfortable pieces from its stores. Earlier this year, the iconic furniture retailer created home environment in the space of a Paris underground station, and now it decided to continue the movement by taking sofas to the streets of the capital. The unique installations, which occupied bus shelters around the city, will be on display from December 15 through December 21.

IKEA, which is known as a supplier of affordable home interior pieces, has shown signs of interest in new approaches in fashion industry. This October, the iconic furniture retailer invited up-and-coming Swedish designers to participate in a competition dubbed ‘IKEA Garderob’ for a chance to have their new collections displayed in a personally designed double PAX-wardrobe at a trendy shop in Stockholm’s Bibliotekstan street.

Since opening its first store in 1958, the global retailer IKEA has been continuously exploring the theme of interior design, both appealing and affordable. It has established itself as a leader in delivering smart solutions for middle class consumers who want their homes to be comfortable and even somewhat glamour, but have to stay within the limits of their salaries. This time, IKEA has teamed up with the Babelgum online television platform to launch the Inside Design: the Reality of Living with Style project, which saw four New York City designers competing to develop a room design on a $5,000 budget.

For its more than 50-year long history, the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA managed to become an epitome of stylish and affordable furniture all around the world. The company offers a plethora of inexpensive self-assembled pieces, both simple and convenient, which nowadays can be found in every other European household as well as in modern art collections of works by celebrated designers. This long brand’s dedication to comfort and beauty is celebrated in a new book by Staffan Bengtsson, one of Scandinavia’s design authorities and editor of Form magazine.