Has work turned you into a robot? Ikea can help

A man goes through his work day like a humanoid robot in Ikea's ad launching its 2019 catalog in the Middle East. But coming home to his Ikea-furnished apartment could make all the difference.

The spot, by Ogilvy Dubai, opens with the dead-eyed, rubbery-skinned businessman walking through his steel and glass office block on autopilot, interacting with colleagues in a stiff, dehumanized manner. Even when he drives home and goes up in the elevator to his apartment, he's still in this rigid and automated mode.

However, once he sits on the sofa and relaxes, his mask suddenly drops and his face becomes human again, as his wife and kids run over to spend time with him.

While we can't help feeling it's a somehow idealized view of coming home from the office to family life (screaming kids and a stressed-out spouse might have been a more realistic view, and what about a working mom instead?), it's nicely done, and set to an affecting music track ("I'm All at Sea," by Will Cookson.) The spot was directed by Santiago Zannou at Big Kahuna Films.