'Peeing on this may change your life': Ikea advert doubles as free pregnancy test and discount voucher

Ikea is known for an innovative approach to advertising, but its first new campaign for 2018 has grossed out some users on social media.

The company is offering pregnant women a significant discount on baby cribs, but there is one slight catch – expectant mothers will need to pee on the interactive advert to reveal the code.

Those brave enough to urinate on the page-length advert will see the much lower price for its 'Sundvik' baby cot. Its title reads 'Peeing on this ad may change your life."

The ad will run in this month's edition of influential Swedish women's magazine Amelia and was created in conjunction with award-winning agency, Åkestam Holst.

The agency worked with industrial technology firm Mercene Labs to deliver the ambitious project. They said:

"The pregnancy test strip was used as a starting point, which relies on antibodies that bind to the pregnancy hormone hCG, resulting in a color change. For scaling up of this technique and adopting it to the physical format of a printed ad, Mercene Labs has used their experience in development of surface active materials for microfluidics and medical diagnostics."

Reaction on social media has been mixed with some saying it goes too far and is 'unhygenic.'

Twitter user Tricina said: "No, @Ikea. No one wants to pee on a magazine ad to get a coupon code. Just no."

Another said: "All the respect for IKEA for putting out free pregnancy tests but like... Y'all couldve done it in a more sanitary way."

This is not the only time the company has used its resources to find ingenious solutions. Following last year's earthquake in Italy, the company built a new school in just 45 days for 65 children aged six to 16.