Volvo has worked really hard for a long time to be known as the "safe" car brand.
So setting aside decades of consistent brand positioning in support of an important "stay at home" message is a bold move for the brand, and one I think we should collectively applaud.
Recently, I showcased a few great examples of iconic brands using their influence to promote social-distancing. This could have been another example, although it's a shame Volvo didn't make this a larger marketing campaign; to my knowledge, this only appeared as a tweet on the Volvo Cars Twitter feed.* I could absolutely see this working as an out-of-home campaign, or even a silent, text-based television ad. But we might never know.
Interestingly, according to this article, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded 23 vehicles as a Top Safety Pick+ and another 41 vehicles as a Top Safety Pick in 2020... and Volvo appeared on the list exactly ZERO times.
And yet, so many people continue to think of "safe" when they think of Volvo.
If that's not a testament to the power of strong and consistent marketing, I don't know what is.
- dp
* If you want to see the tweet as originally posted, you can find it here. As you can see, the post doesn't work nearly as well with the copy that Volvo's social media team decided to include along with it... which is why I think it would make such a great out-of-home ad.