VOLVO | LIFE ON BOARD PROJECT | 2005
They Let a Car Ad Talk About Life Instead of Cars, and It Sold Them Anyway / VOLVO "LIFE ON BOARD PROJECT"
In 2005, Volvo made a car ad that stopped talking about cars. Just by letting people talk about their lives, it became the first ad ever to win a Titanium Lion at Cannes.
The problem
At the time, Volvo had a reputation among young people as "safe but boring" and "boxy and uncool," and they weren't interested. Even when Volvo tried to go sportier with the S60 and V70, the usual car-advertising playbook couldn't get anyone's attention.
The insight
The idea they landed on was a simple one: a car is something people drive. No matter how much you talk about safety features, it can't compete with what people actually feel and say while they're inside the car. So instead of selling the car, why not just show life itself?
The idea
They searched the world for people who had lived rich, eventful lives, paired them up, put them in a Volvo, sent them on a road trip, and filmed their conversations exactly as they happened. A girl who went back to surfing after being attacked by a shark, paired with a jockey. A man who went from homeless to successful, paired with a psychologist who studies luck. These unscripted, real conversations were put online for the world to see, on an interactive site available in 22 languages.
What happened
The campaign ran across Volvo's main lineup throughout Europe and Asia, and won not only the Titanium Lion but also an award in the interactive category.
Afterthought
Volvo's global advertising director, Tim Ellis, put it this way: "They're testifying about life, not about the car. But that's exactly why it sells." Sometimes the bravest thing you can do—hiding the product—turns out to be the most powerful way to sell it.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2005
