Shortly after I started my career in advertising, a wise Mad Man told me, “When you write a commercial, talk to people like they’re your friends because when you make friends, you make customers.” It looks like Volvo’s agency channeled my old mentor when it came up with this spot, which is clearly meant to make you feel friendly towards Volvos and the good natured, “real” folks who drive them. And these days, Volvo needs all the friends it can get.
We open on a luxury SUV stopped at a traffic light. If you look closely, you can tell it’s a Mercedes-Benz M-class. A cut to the driver reveals a well-dressed blonde making a duck face in the rearview mirror. We can’t make out her license plate, but if it doesn’t read “1PRCNTR,” it should. Cut back to the opening camera position as a Volvo XC60 pulls up next to the Benz. Its driver is a pleasant-looking woman intended to be reminiscent of your neighbor, someone you went to high school with, or maybe you.
As the Volvo settles in at the light, the Mercedes lady looks over with an air of superiority. But our friend in the XC60 is oblivious to this because she’s too busy peering into her own rearview mirror, crossing her eyes in a most goofy fashion. What the . . . ? A cut reveals she’s doing this for the benefit of her kids in the back seat, who crack up at her crazy antics. Oh, you wacky, wonderful Mommy! As the three of them share a good giggle, Ms. All That shoots them a condescending glance. Meanwhile, the announcer explains that Volvos are for “real people,” meaning your friends. And you.
The announcer also proclaims that Volvo kinda likes that its cars aren’t for everybody, but I find that harder to swallow than the stuff they make you drink before a colonoscopy. Volvo would love it if everybody wanted its cars, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon: With a dearth of recently released products, its U.S. sales are skidding faster than a ’59 PV544 on a frozen lake north of Arjeplog in January. (Volvo sales were down here in the early part of this year, even as overall U.S. sales were trending up.)
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- Photos and Info: 2014 Volvo S60
This commercial is designed to correct that skid by going after the people most likely to buy a Volvo: women who put family first and don’t like ostentation. Volvo ID’d this group through some serious research, and I say the company is right to zero in on them. But focusing on this warm, fuzzy target can have its downside. Tassos Panas, head of marketing and product planning for Volvo in North America, acknowledged in an Automotive News story that the spot is polarizing because it pegs typical luxury buyers as more materialistic than shoppers of the Swedish brand, and that’s bound to turn off some potential converts. I understand that concern, but when your pool’s leaking, you’ve got to plug the hole before you add more water. In that regard, this ad hits the mark.
Award-winning ad man-cum-auto journalist Don Klein knows a good (or bad) car commercial when he sees one; the Ad Section is his space to tell you what he thinks of the latest spots. The ad’s rating is depicted via the shift pattern at the bottom, but everyone has an opinion when it comes to advertising, so hit Backfires below and tell us what you think, too.
Source: CarAndDriver
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