Four Days and Counting: Volvo Reveals its Unused Ideas for Super Bowl Ad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 2, 2005) –– Four days before the Super Bowl, Volvo Cars of North America still has not unveiled the creative content of its first-ever Super Bowl ad. The company, however, is revealing four commercial concepts it rejected before developing the campaign more than 85 million people will see Sunday. The discarded ideas include:

• “Volvo.com.” Celebrating the five year anniversary of 17 dot-coms buying Super Bowl ads, Volvo developed a concept in their memory featuring high-priced celebrities, irreverent humor, abstract messaging and talking footwear to promote the new Volvo XC90 V8 SUV. “We tested our rough cut with focus groups and no one could understand it…not even us,” said Helen Gore, Volvo Cars of North America spokesperson.
• “Take the Volvo Challenge.” Riffing off the blindfolded taste test commercials of yesteryear, Volvo considered blindfolding drivers and asking them to test-drive a new Volvo and another brand’s car. “For obvious reasons, our safety folks had a conniption over this one and it didn’t make it off the drawing board,” Gore said.
• “Soccer Mom Bowl I.” A 30-second spot showcasing the first of a perennial battle royale football smackdown pitting suburban moms from West of the Mississippi River against suburban moms East of the Mississippi, with winners receiving a new Volvo. “We thought about this a lot, but then decided this whole East Coast/West Coast rivalry thing has got to stop before someone gets hurt,” Gore added.
• “Safe Car. Great Design.” In a crowded Volvo retailer, customers side over why they prefer Volvos, with one side chanting “Safe Car!” against the other side chanting “Great Design!” “Come to think of it, this is not such a bad idea; I don’t know why we didn’t go with this,” Gore concluded.

Volvo is producing its actual campaign with its advertising agency of record, Euro RSCG Worldwide. Super Bowl XXXIX will be held Feb. 6, 2005, in Jacksonville, Fla.

More information about the vehicle and Volvo’s Super Bowl initiative can be found at www.boldlygo.com.

Contact:

Eric Davis,

Haberman & Associates,

612-372-6447

eric@modernstorytellers.com.

Sören Johansson,

Volvo Cars of North America,

949-341-6719,

sjohan44@volvocars.com.