-- Download Occupy IKEA's #HouseRules as PDF --

Oh, IKEA, you’d think you’d learn from all the past corporate attempts to create a Twitter hashtag to promote your brand, attempts that have been subverted by culture jammers.

Maybe IKEA will get away with this one, #HouseRules, but in the spirit of the Occupy Movement rebooting on Friday with the #WaveOfAction, we should try to Occupy IKEA and their hashtag because they’re trying to break their union in Richmond, BC.

Let’s see how:

It happened to Emperor Stephen Harper when he wanted us to tweet science-y questions for him to ask Chris Hadfield on the ISS. Instead, we pointed out that Emperor Stephen rejects science.

And gorgeous McDonald’s tried a hashtag so people could tell stories about how much they love them. They lost control of that, as did Harper, almost immediately.

And Wendy’s tried #HeresTheBeef, and got trouble.

So we need to make IKEA understand we don’t like their 1% antics.

Here’s what they’re trying to do:

We are creating the biggest collection of #HouseRules. Share using the hashtag #HouseRules

— IKEA Canada (@IKEACanada) March 31, 2014

Here is a barf-worthy response, playing IKEA’s 1% game:

Missing that #warmandfuzzy feeling? Watch Ikea's #houserules ad.

— Krispahlyn Daria (@KrisDaria) April 1, 2014

And here’s one culture jam that works on subverting IKEA’s #HouseRules:

https://twitter.com/stephen_rees/status/450793250605907968

And here are a bunch of suggestions for your to retweet, copy, improve upon or just plain steal! Plagiarism is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery!

What's so warm & fuzzy about IKEA breaking their union? "@kaseyackroyd Ikea's #HouseRules commercial just made my heart all warm and fuzzy"

— s.E~B, #ClimateHope (@dgiVista) April 1, 2014

and…

More @IKEACanada #HouseRules: use scabs! #1u #canlab #bcpoli #RichmondBC @Teamsters

— s.E~B, #ClimateHope (@dgiVista) April 1, 2014

or this:

More @IKEACanada #HouseRules: two-tier wages for the same work! #1u #canlab #bcpoli #RichmondBC @Teamsters

— s.E~B, #ClimateHope (@dgiVista) April 1, 2014

or maybe this:

More @IKEACanada #HouseRules: break your union! #1u #canlab #bcpoli #RichmondBC @Teamsters

— s.E~B, #ClimateHope (@dgiVista) April 1, 2014

then there’s this:

More @IKEACanada #HouseRules: lockout workers! #1u #canlab #bcpoli #RichmondBC @Teamsters

— s.E~B, #ClimateHope (@dgiVista) April 1, 2014

In the end, we need to remember solidarity. IKEA thinks they can lock out their workers for almost a year and still reap billions in profits.

We need to walk the Occupy talk and seek justice and equality: economic, political and social.

It starts with boycotting all IKEAs in the world, and for the next few days, culture jamming their #HouseRules hashtag.

Join us, with your virtual spray can!

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Stephen Elliott-Buckley

Post-partisan eco-socialist. at Politics, Re-Spun

Stephen Elliott-Buckley is a husband, father, professor, speaker, consultant, former suburban Vancouver high school English and Social Studies teacher who changed careers because the BC Liberal Party has been working hard to ruin public education. He has various English and Political Science degrees and has been writing political, social and economic editorials since November 2002. Stephen is in Twitter, Miro and iTunes, and the email thing, and at his website, dgiVista.org.

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