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?
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“six global TV spots based on the theme “Life is better lived together.”
Gag me with a spoon.
I guess I’m part of the 11% that sees my Volvo as an extension of myself. What’s so wrong with that? Then again I drive an S60R…
The article reminds me that, many years ago, my brother gave me this book to read, Shibumi, by Trevanian, who also wrote the The Eiger Sanction. It was a novel about a master spy trained in Go and something called Naked/Kill. I found the character unbelievably superior to mere mortals, but the author, Trevanian, did give him the amusing habit of kicking his Volvo.
He bought the Volvo assuming that any car that ugly had to be well made. It wasn’t, so he’d kick it after each ride. Friends and onlookers began to imitate him and Volvo-bashing caught on throughout Europe and, in the book, Volvo even considered selling a pre-bashed version.
I’ve seen one of the ads and I didn’t think it was half bad. It was a Volvo driving off-road picking up wayward (hitch)hikers.
I don’t think owning a new Volvo would enhance my life and my car is a 16 year old econobox without a muffler.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I should note however, that I’m in that 11%.
benders, are you the idiot across the street who wakes me up at all hours of the day with that incessantly unmufflered saturn???
kansei: No, I drive a Mazda.
RF brought up in the podcast that Volvo should go back to selling on safety. I think the reason they stopped is because Volvo’s don’t get the top ratings from the NHTSA anymore. So once they couldn’t quantitatively say they were the best, they stopped.
Now, that’s probably not a good idea but at least understandable.
My new XC90 Sport hasn’t really enhanced my life in any tangible way but it is supremely comfortable. That must be worth something.
NHTSA is poop!
I would bet that Volvo does better in the real world stat that really means something – fatalaties per 100,000 miles.
I have looked at Volvo, but never thought that the price was right. The larger ones are too close to the BMW’s in price, and the tiny ones are way too much compared to the equally good competition.
Volvo smacks my demographic square on the head with the C30, and not by flogging the safety angle. That picture up there reminds me of what we used to do to Mom’s floppy-shifting, fishtailing RWD turbo over gravel back roads, with a friend craning out the cranked-open sunroof to watch for oncomers. Plus, from the Shared Together Department, you could get six blathering fools back from a party with one DD, or, hell with it, just pass out in the back. The flip side of “brick-like ugmobile” was (or is, ’cause we won’t let them die) sleeper funwagon. Now we have salaries, and the contrarians among us are willing to forsake the perfection of a BMW’s poise or a Honda’s reliability for something that’s still, despite all recent efforts, a little weird.
Are there enough of us to hang a brand on, or even a segment? Probably not. Remember, we are still all miserly, carpooling neo-socialists. Oh, well. Here’s hoping the marketing works its magic.
“89% of Volvo drivers put a premium on togetherness and sharing”
When I was in college I had a 1968 Volvo 145 – convertible – thanks to togetherness and sharing… Never take a Volvo to a fraternity cabin party where there may be a chainsaw and a keg-o Genesee Scream Ale.
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?