Mysterious road holding
Volvo is making waves in the U.S. with commercials that deliberately leave viewers in the dark.
Matt O'Rourke, ECD at Grey, calls it "non-linear storytelling". Adweek.com. Car advertising, next level. The agency has developed two stories down to the smallest detail, but tells them to the viewer in a non-linear, incomplete and incomprehensible way. Not completely comprehensible at all. 30-second spots, which leave many questions unanswered, tease the 3-minute online versions. These answer questions, but still leave plenty of room for interpretation. This is intended to tempt viewers to speculate, fantasize and discuss.
This could be an agency wishful thinking, but it actually works in reality. In the YouTube comments, it quickly becomes clear that the campaign touches, inspires, annoys and engages many people. Real involvement. And along the way, we marvel at the luxurious SUV and the elegant limousine - the real protagonists in their inconspicuous supporting roles.
In order to appeal to people who are not normally interested in cars and car advertising, we worked with people who don't normally do car advertising. The director had never advertised cars in the US market before, and the composer had never been involved in advertising at all.
Unsurprisingly, the campaign is polarizing. Some people are enchanted by the mystery, others are annoyed because they can't see through it. Or to put it in the words of O'Rouke: "Some people say, 'I don't get it. I hate it,' while others say, 'I don't get it. I love it. That's the goal: creating a conversation. If it makes people have opinions, I think we're doing a good job." (hae)
