Overview
Of all the things available to watch on YouTube, IKEA's new contribution to the online platform might just be the most leisurely. Jumping on the slow TV bandwagon (or ship, to be more accurate), the huge furniture retailer is currently streaming a watery boat journey between Sweden and Australia — the voyage that brings its Billy bookcases, Kallax shelves, Ektorp sofas and more to our shores.
That trip takes a whopping 14 days — or 336 hours — and it's playing on IKEA's new Slow TV YouTube channel in full. The stream started on Thursday, September 12 and will run through until Thursday, September 26. And while it's designed to look like it's all happening live, IKEA has specifically called it a "real-time representation".
Those keen to tune in will see plenty of the high seas for much of the stream's duration. Later, when the vessel reaches Australia, you'll be able to watch as the ship pulls into port, then keep viewing as its shipping containers are unloaded, and then witness their journey to stores. You'll also be able to see IKEA boxes arrive at the back of one specific shop, then make their way to the warehouse, with its products unpacked and ready to be sold.
Whether it sounds like riveting viewing or not will depend on your threshold for the slow TV trend. Based on how many folks watched SBS' forays into the genre over the past couple of years — first by airing a 17-hour documentary about The Ghan and it's train trip across the country, and then by doing the same with the Indian-Pacific — it seems there's a sizeable audience for simply watching the world go by.
IKEA's venture into the slow TV fold has a purpose. Yes, it's trying to get you into the company's stores. The chain is holding a Festival of Sleep on the stream's final day, because this 14-day video is also designed to help viewers relax, feel calm and get some shut-eye. It follows IKEA's Sleep Podcast earlier this year, which attempted to entice listeners to nod off by reading a list of Swedish furniture names. The podcast's narrators, Kent and Sara Eriksson, are also doing the same job here — this time rattling off products from IKEA's 2020 catalogue.
Check out IKEA's Slow TV YouTube channel below:
IKEA's Slow TV YouTube Channel is screening until Thursday, September 26.