Apartment living in New York is never easy, and finding the right furniture—and getting rid of any cast-offs in an environmentally conscious way—is part of the challenge. The furniture resale platform Kaiyo is the only full-service marketplace to buy and sell “pre-loved” furniture that is high quality, well designed and made to last. Since its launch in 2019, Kaiyo has saved almost 4 million pounds of furniture from ending up in landfills.
Building on the brand identity and name it previously developed for the platform, Pentagram has created a new advertising campaign that turns “Kaiyo” into a call to action. The company wanted a distinctive concept it could truly own, something that was simple, memorable and easy to say. The next step is turning the name into a verb: “Kaiyo it!”
The ads play off real life situations with smart and witty humor that New Yorkers will appreciate. (Kaiyo is currently available in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, with plans to expand to other areas.) The copy is framed as a series of questions: “Not only did they break your heart, they took the sofa, too?” “Tired of piecing it together only to have it fall apart?” The answer in all cases is, “Kaiyo it!”
The ads feature playful illustrations of domestic scenes that center on a silhouetted photo of the piece of furniture in question, set against the saturated yellow of the Kaiyo branding. The series is running as digital animations in street kiosks and as static posters on the subway, where it greets New Yorkers who are ready to reassess their living situations after lockdown.
