The main objective of the campaign was to help Volvo reclaim the position as a market leader in safety. With new modern safety features, Volvo aims to bring equal safety to all and protect people both inside and outside cars, which led us to the overarching new concept line: For everyone’s safety.

More specifically, Volvo wanted to position the XC60 as the ultimate family car. To stand out from an increasingly crowded space, we needed to redefine the modern family car. We based the whole idea on one human insight: being exhausted is a sign of a good parent, but also a bad driver. We understand that parents need more than a spacious trunk and durable interior materials when they choose a new car – they need someone looking after them, like they look after their kids.

We all know that parenting is a 24-hour job. But the depiction of parents in the media is something else: unrealistic, unattainable and flawless. In this campaign for Volvo XC60, the ultimate family car, we wanted to show that being exhausted is a sign of a good parent, but also a bad driver. And that a family car should be more than just spacious trunks and durable materials – it should protect you and your loved ones on the road. Because sometimes, child or adult, we all need someone looking after us.

The main target audience were parents or parents-to-be. Volvo wanted to position the XC60 as the ultimate family car and we needed to show the target audience that we understand all aspects of family life, not only the practical ones. That even the most exceptional parent gets exhausted and when that happens, they need more than just a spacious trunk and durable materials – they need protection.

In the main film, we follow a couple adapting to their new life as parents. They deal with early mornings, towers of diapers and baby proofs every room, all while operating on very little sleep. As the momentum builds, the mother is saved by a safety feature in the XC60, ending with the message: “The car that looks after you, like you look after others”.

To fully utilize the concept in social media, we used an online phenomenon, so-called “parent saves”, and combined it with our own footage to create humorous short clips. And to break category language in still images, we combined beautiful car photography with chaotic family life. All assets led to the same powerful message: sometimes, we all need someone looking after us.

Within 24 hours, the campaign instantly created thousands of reactions on social media. Despite portraying a chaotic side of family life, most comments were positive, and it wasn’t just parents that praised the refreshing honesty from a car brand. The observation value was 92%, which is high above the benchmark of 53%. And the people who engaged with the campaign experienced it as original, interesting, useful and relatable. It also exceeded the sales target by 58%. To summarize, excellent results from a campaign that launched early in September 2020.