I enjoy IKEA hacking as much as the next guy, but Balenciaga's $2.1k "homage" to the classic blue bag felt a bit hackneyed. While the accessible furniture and home goods company has stated publicly that the high fashion rip off is "flattering" this new ad might suggest otherwise. 

It's a fun little commercial for the humble item, and does an admirable job of showing the original bag's real and slightly outlandish uses and users. They do make a great hauler for landscaping and messy breakups, but if I tried to strap a bunch of open topped bags to my car roof I'd wind up with littering tickets and several fewer possessions. 

Think I'm blowing air about the beef? The soothing voiceover poses the verbatim question, "Why should functionality and quality be a privilege for the few, when we can do something about it?" Then shows a fancy gentleman posing with his suit and blue bag in front of a mirror, before the ad's final shot lingers on the bag left unworn on his bed. With each tart wink at their copycat, IKEA gets to reiterate their brand messaging as a design house for the common folk, the laborers, the proletariat. Whether it's justified or not, I'm starting to wonder if the Balenciaga design was a deep ops co-brand all along.