For Every You
My style is di bom digi bom di deng di deng digi-digi.
I love this new commercial for the all-electric Volvo XC40 Recharge.
Starting with the backing track.
While visiting my sister in San Francisco for Thanksgiving, she pointed it out and we shazammed it.
The song is "Cobrastyle" performed by Swedish band Teddybears, featuring Jamaican singer Mad Cobra.
The spot hits because the music cues the visuals so well.
"For every you" introduces the XC40 Recharge through a series of scenes that demonstrate versatility. Of the product. Of its owner.
The cast of characters - buttoned up professional, sporty yoga person, artsy creative classer, outdoorsy hiker, nighttime date goer - are all played by the same talent (Cinzia Chang).
The message is that the XC40 is right for any and all of them.
The titles spell out the key selling points - 100% electric, 400 km range, spacious interior, 360-degree camera view, Google hands-free search, frunk.
What?
A frunk is a "front trunk". Since there is no internal combustion engine in the XC40 Recharge, the unused engine compartment has been reexpressed as additional storage space.
The 360-degree camera view is also amazing. It's not clear how this is done, but the XC40 Recharge can stitch together an image of the car and its surroundings from above (as if seen from a drone hovering directly above the car) using cameras on the exterior of the vehicle. Showing it without explanation is a great way to prompt test drives.
The REAL selling point of this car though, is the MPGe. The EPA has given the XC40 Recharge fuel economy ratings of 92 MPGe city and 79 MPGe highway. For comparison, that’s 2-3x higher than my Mini Cooper gets.
A quick side note on MPGe. It stands for miles per gallon - equivalent. A gasoline-powered car's MPG can be calculated using a simple formula (miles/gallon of gasoline consumed). But such a figure is not available when a battery from a hybrid or fully-electric vehicle replaces gas as its source of energy. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has devised a new unit of measurement for the electric car's energy consumption level so it can be compared with gas-powered vehicles. Window stickers at dealerships in the US are now federally mandated to show the MPGe when it's an electrified car (the same as they are for MPG, for gas-fueled vehicles).
Bottom line. IMO, the XC40 Recharge gives us a look not only at the future of Volvo's fleet, but at the future of automobiles. And people (life shifting). And cities (notice the light pole in most scenes in the spot has a charger built into it).
Fortunately, this view of the future looks (and sounds) good.
CREDITS
Client: Volvo / Production Agency: Skewed / Media Agency: Mindshare / Creative Director: Marcus Engman / Film Director: Daniel Björkman / Talent: Cinzia Chang / Music: Teddybears, Mad Cobra
https://skewed.com/we-present-to-you-the-new-volvo-xc40-campaign/
