2010 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Volvo was celebrating the 50 year anniversary of their 3-point seatbelt. With seatbelt usage low in Dubai (in 2008, the UAE had one of the highest rates of road deaths the world), we understood that conventional seatbelt safety campaigns had little impact. The challenge was how to get young people to begin thinking positively about seatbelts and infiltrate them into their daily lives.

Creative Execution

We targeted young people by hitting the places they frequent, placing our message where few safety campaigns have gone before. And the message wasn’t about tired seatbelt stats. We found a brand new way to talk about safety - by looking at the ever-changing fashions worn underneath the seatbelt. This new angle and direct communication connected with young people and helped to update their perception of Volvo as more than just a brand synonymous with safety.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Many safety campaigns focus on print or tv. We leveraged our limited budget (USD 32,000) by identifying cost-effective direct channels that would surprise and connect with young people where they spend their time – the mall. We created an image collection, but rather than using it in ads, we used direct (postcards, our magazine, web) featuring an attractive tactical offer. Partnering with retailer Massimo Dutti, storefronts featuring seatbelt clad mannequins garnered attention, driving people instore. Live mannequin displays amplified the buzz, along with social media. Instore, postcards drove people to enter the contest online, capturing data with every entry.

Results

The stunt proved the old adage, ‘Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd’ to be true. Thousands saw the activity during the five week campaign. The impact even extended beyond the mall – with onlookers taking photos and posting their shots across blogs and social media. We created PR in places Volvo safety normally would never get in: fashion blogs, style magazines and social media. We produced more than 6,800 media impressions and over US$ 55,000 worth of free media coverage along with 1,800 real leads for Volvo. And most important, young people started looking at the seatbelt differently.