IKEA Reads the Room

A Baby Monkey, a Stuffed Orangutan, and a Masterclass in Cultural Fluency

A seven-month-old macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo near Tokyo gets abandoned by his mother. Worse, after being raised by zookeepers, he was swatted away and bullied by other adults when re-introduced into the troop. The zookeepers give him a stuffed orangutan for comfort. He drags it everywhere. Runs to it when rejected by adults. The internet falls completely in love.

Punch and Djungelskog.

#がんばれパンチ — #HanginTherePunch takes hold.

Videos of Punch rack up tens of millions of views. Fan art floods Insta, X, and Reddit. Punch becomes a national news sensation with everyone from Today Show to The New York Times to CNN to Mashable, even Rolling Stone and Cosmo covering the baby monkey. Eight thousand people show up at the zoo in a single weekend — more than double the usual.

The stuffed animal happens to be IKEA’s Djungelskog. $19.99.

IKEA Japan’s CEO personally visits the zoo with a donation of plushies. IKEA Spain repurposes Punch’s image in a catalog-style layout. IKEA Hong Kong runs a playful social post of its own. Sales spike across Japan, the U.S., and South Korea.

Image 1 — Netherlands: "Comfort for everyone."  Image 2 — Dominican Republic: "The most important mission of Djungelskog."  Image 2 — Netherlands: "Employee of the month: "Mama van Punch.“ Image 4 — Spain: "Punch, here's the family.”  Local adaptation, global sentiment. Comfort, connection.

IKEA’s official statement and social content are a masterclass in cultural fluency.

“What matters most to us is not that he holds on to our product, but that he is supported at his own pace — and that his soft toy friend can continue to help him cope until he is fully ready to let go.”

Read that again. The global furniture company’s statement highlights care over product.

And the social content: “Sometimes family is who we find along the way.” And the comment, “We’re ALL Punch’s family now. #HanginTherePunch”

That social content was warm, centered on Punch, on connection. Consumers gushed.

It’s a rare thing when a company can respond—in near real time—in a way that makes people feel something real. About a furniture company.

They didn’t just read the brand moment; they read the emotional need underneath it.

Breaking news update: Punch has started making friends.