Hasta La Motion!

Volvo is promoting the safety features found on the new Volvo XC60 with “Moments that never happen”, a beautifully crafted commercial. A young girl talks with her mother about the future possibilities that will come from her first day at school. As she walks down the footpath she visualises the two best friends for life, the journeys she’ll take, and the family she’ll raise. At the same time another woman sets out on her journey through the city, coping with tiredness and distractions. The Volvo Moments commercial’s plot comes to a climax when the young girl steps out to cross the street. The Volvo’s safety system detects the girl and applies its autonomous emergency brake, preventing what could have been a life-changing collision. The film ends with a conclusion: “Sometimes the moments that never happen matter the most.”

Over 1.2 million people die in traffic accidents around the globe each year, but Volvo believes its vision of an injury and fatality-free future can soon be a reality.

The vehicle here is the XC60, which has several new safety features. A steer support functionality was added to the brand’s City Safety autonomous emergency braking system. And a new system, Oncoming Lane Mitigation, uses steer assist to mitigate head-on collisions. Also, the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) has been updated with a steer assist function to reduce the risk of lane-changing collisions.

All of which should reduce the human factor, which after all is responsible for some 94 percent of traffic accidents.

“This film featuring the new XC60 highlights how important active safety systems have become and reflects Volvo’s leadership in this area,” says Anders Gustafsson, senior vice president for EMEA at Volvo Car Group. “We launched our City Safety autonomous emergency braking system as standard equipment in all new Volvos back in 2008, starting with the first generation XC60. Today, these systems are finally becoming an industry standard.”

In Sweden alone, Volvo says it has seen 45 percent fewer rear-end frontal crashes thanks to its collision warning with autobrake system.

“We have been working with collision avoidance systems for many years and we can see how effective they are,” says Malin Ekholm, vice president of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “With the XC60, we are determined to take the next step in reducing avoidable collisions with the addition of steering support and assistance systems. At Volvo we take that extra step—we protect people inside and outside the car whenever possible.”

Volvo Moments Credits

The Volvo Moments campaign was developed at Forsman & Bodenfors by art directors Karl Risenfors and Andreas Malm, copywriter Gustav Johansson, account director Anders Bothén, account manager Ewa Edlund, graphic designer Martin Joelsson, PR strategist Bjarne Darwall, agency producer Jim Elfving.

Filming was shot by director Gustav Johansson via New Land with director of photography Chayse Irvin and executive producer Therese Engberg.

Editor was Sam Ostrove at Cut + Run.

Music is “Final Minutes and the Mountains”, by composer Dan Romer.