FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Who Would You Give a Volvo to?” Campaign Inspires 10,000 “Lovers” to put their hearts on the line
IRVINE, Calif., October 23, 2006 – One little hypothetical question has inspired thousands of Americans to put their hearts on the line. Just over a month since the launch of Volvo’s “Who Would You Give a Volvo To?” ad campaign, more than 10,000 Volvo “lovers” have posted their very personal answers to a special online gallery of stories.
The campaign, which first launched September 1 with outdoor “I Volvo You” teaser executions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Miami, centers on what has been Volvo's cornerstone asset for years – safety. This time, however, Volvo goes beyond the expected functional and pragmatic aspects of safety to get to the very heart of what safety means. The ads ask the question "Who would you give a Volvo to?" or, in other words, "who would you want to protect by putting them in one of the safest cars on the planet?"
The series of thirty-second TV spots include one emotionally loaded but funny scene of a father teaching his daughter to drive stick shift; another shows a dad picking his young, chatterbox daughter up from school. A third tells the story of a Volvo crossing miles and cultures, exchanging drivers and passengers along the way; all sharing small connections and gestures, and a general sense of well being inside their Volvo. And the ads have struck a chord. Since the TV spots broke September 11 during new fall season TV slots, there have been 214,136 visits to www.volvocars.us and 11,168 individual submissions to the “Who Would You Give a Volvo To?” gallery, including numerous heart-felt personal stories, family snapshots and home video.
“No other car brand could be inserted into 'Who would you give a Volvo to?’ says John Maloney, Vice President of Communications, Volvo Cars of North America. “The campaign is unique. It makes people think about who they love, who they care for, who they want to protect – and which Volvo model they would choose. On top of that you also get to tell your own highly personal story.”
The TV campaign broke during season premieres of hit shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost (ABC), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) and Brothers and Sisters (ABC). The buy also includes spots on A&E, Bravo, CNBC, CNN, Discovery, E!, ESPN, Food Network, Fox News and others. Print ads also appeared in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
To view the ad campaign and the Who Would You Give a Volvo to? gallery, visit www.volvocars.us.
About Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA), based in Irvine, CA, is a subsidiary of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. VCNA provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Volvo has been building cars with Safety in mind for over 75 years. The current 2007 model line-up of Volvo Cars includes: the award-winning new S40 and its wagon counterpart the all-new V50; the award-winning XC90; the sporty S60 sedan – including the award-winning performance sedan – S60 R and the performance wagon version – V70 R; the versatile V70 wagon and rugged XC70 (Cross Country); the new Volvo C70 - the convertible with the innovative retractable hardtop, and the all-new Volvo S80, coming the first quarter of 2007.
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Contact:
Jo Watson
Haberman & Associates
612-372-6447
jo@habermaninc.com
Sören Johansson
Volvo Cars of North America
949-341-6719
sjohan44@volvocars.com
