Volvo: Made by Sweden – a class apart

Loved this new ‘Vintersaga’ (‘Winter’s Tale) campaign for Volvo. The key message: it takes a special kind of engineering and design to build a car which can handle Sweden’s tough weather conditions, especially in winter. The execution is a montage of the (miserable) weather conditions in Sweden, beautifully shot and set to music. I didn’t understand a word of the lyrics but the visuals drive home the message.

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors (the same agency behind the ‘epic split’ campaign for Volvo trucks).

According to Google, the description of the video translates thus:

This is a tribute to Sweden when it is kärvast . A thank you to the cold, darkness , wind and rain. Because without our strict Swedish conditions we had never made ??the cars we do.

Anyone can build a car that works in sunshine and beautiful weather . To develop cars that take you to your destination in any weather and road conditions is another matter entirely . For us, all-wheel drive is not an unnecessary additional equipment one can boast , it is a function that takes you home.

Over at the website, some of the locations and weather conditions are highlighted. Glorious -32 degree celsius, 127mm rainfall in a day, 85cm of snow and such like.

Apparently, the extreme, harsh images of the Swedish winter were inspired by the Swedish word ‘vemod’ meaning something that is sad but at the same time beautiful. It does get the brand message of ‘made to survive any weather condition’ beautifully. No?