Grey London has launched its first global campaign for Volvo since winning creative duties last December, which takes a different approach to automobile advertising.
In the 60-second “The Swell,” the first shot is from the passenger side perspective. As the camera zooms out (while panning around the car) we see that the door is open and the car is parked at a deserted beach. “To feel, to really feel, is a rare thing these days,” intones the voiceover as we see the car’s driver (presumably) riding a surfboard and taking in the surroundings. As the camera submerges into the water, we see the tagline, “Seek feeling.”
The unusual spot breaks today on Volvo’s YouTube account and website, and will broadcast in Germany, Australia, France, Turkey and Belgium at the end of this year, and the UK in 2015.
“The last thing the world needs is another overly-retouched car, hooning down a mountain road to a soft rock soundtrack,” Hollie Newton, Grey London’s global creative director told Campaign. “There’s a defiant, slightly renegade Swedish spirit to Volvo that simply doesn’t fit with the bland world of car advertising. And thank God for that.”