This is the Volvo ad: 'Zebra Crossing'. (one)

The communication director of Volvo in Spain, said just a few months ago: "Volvo is a brand that is very clear about what it is to make a car and safety has always been a priority issue for our company, says Álvaro de la Herrán." (two)

Well known is the fame of Volvo safety. Without going any further, it is said that they were the inventors of the seat belt (3). The passive safety system that has saved the most lives in the history of driving is today more than fifty years old. And the first vehicle in history equipped with a seat belt was precisely the Volvo PV544: on August 13, 1959, at a dealership in Kristianstad.

Image from circulaseguro.com + Image from http://www.carscoops.com/2007/10/volvo-releases-private-car-accident.html (4)

The differential fact that allowed Volvo to stay ahead of the competition was undoubtedly the concept of "safety", however in 2010, the brand itself recognized that they have never wanted to compete in safety (5). However, in the 2007 campaign, Volvo insisted on its safety message with a campaign that it brought to light, like this one:

«The true story of a family who suffered an accident aboard their 2000 Volvo V70, which hit a small SUV that invaded the opposite lane. The result was a broken rib for the father, who was driving the V70, a knee injury for the mother, who was occupying the rear center position and her two-month-old son who was occupying a baby chair in the rear seats was unharmed. According to Volvo, if such a brutal accident resulted in this result with a 2000 model, in a 2007 model with the technical safety innovations that have been incorporated, it would have allowed its occupants to escape practically unharmed. " (6)

Did Volvo refer to the new concept of Safety that it defined in 2008 with the name »City Safety? (7) The truth is that in that year it already announced this new security system, no longer passive but active. Security had become "active" when announcing that it already had an automatic braking system in the event of being hit.

This City Safety concept is integrated into a broader one: the " Safety Concept Car " (SCC). But in 2010, Volvo turned the concept of safety upside down from the perspective of the marketing analyst. It is in this campaign and for this September 2010 ad, that Volvo highlights only "City Safety".

"City Safety" implies thinking that "pedestrians are also victims" (8). Since in Europe, it is estimated that 14% of traffic fatalities are fatal pedestrians (9). This change in concept at Volvo is linked to a Portuguese advertising campaign that drew attention to victims who are not in cars: pedestrians. The message was communicated through a "zebra crossing" painted with hundreds of names of accident victims who passed by and were run over.

Volvo now seems to have replicated that new concept, to communicate that "new safety" in its latest ad.