Volvo's New TV Ads: We Are Family!
If you ran one of Volvo's two ad agencies, would you team-up with the other guys and sell the brand's internationally-famous reputation for safety? Of course you would, but you don't, and the people who do consider Volvo's safety shtick "a ladder to something else" and "felt being a family car was limiting the brand's appeal." Prepare to enter the world of the Armani-clad ad folk of Nitro (London) and Arnold (Boston). The companies interviewed car valets around the world– validated their insights with quantitative studies– to reveal that "89% of Volvo drivers put a premium on togetherness and sharing, while competitive model owners see their cars as an extension of themselves and more likely to pursue individual interests." Advertising Age reports the result: six global TV spots based on the theme "Life is better lived together." Just in case the touchy feely message didn't fly with Volvo's lame duck owners, Volvo's director-global advertising linked the new spin with the old spin. "Volvo is not a cold, rational brand," Tim Ellis opined. "Safety is about enhancing the quality of life for people inside and outside the car." Not to sound like spam, but how many of you non-Volvo drivers feel suitably enhanced?
More by Robert Farago
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An advertising effort like this just can't rid itself of focus-group stink. Too soft, too gentle, too namby-pamby, "Let's appeal to our core consumers (and secretly everybody in the world except evil selfish people who hate families!)" Please... makes me really appreciate the old (as of months ago) kick-in-the-ass Dodge branding.
Volvo's got it all wrong. They need to change their tagline for the V70 to "Haul shit, haul ass". And thats why I love my 99 GLT (even after buying my first car three times over in repairs recently). Volvo has long been a secret fun car. They need to start playing up that angle and hitting a chord with many past owners.
thats funny someone else auto-xs a volvo-i was at a race and a guy with a long grey beard was racing a mid 80s volvo-wagon and i laughed until i seen he beat my time in every heat.
Luther: Did you end up with a Deathmobile?