Shark-attack surfer girl stars in Volvo viral campaign

Emma Rigby,, Revolution UK 22-Sep-04, 11:00

LONDON - Bethany Hamilton, the 14-year-old surfing champion who had her arm bitten off by a shark, will feature in Volvo's latest TV and online branding campaign.

"Life on board", which is launched this week, features sports personalities who have overcome great sporting injuries, including Hamilton, who has returned to surfing following her horrific injury.

TV ads directed by documentary maker Lance Bangs shows a clip of Hamilton in a Volvo XC 70 talking to US jockey Greta Kuntzweiler, who has suffered great injury. The ads drive people to the full internet documentary on the Volvo site.

A film to promote the new V70 estate features Chris Gardner, one of the most successful stockbrokers on Wall Street who was once homeless, chatting to psychologist Dr Richard Wiseman.

The ads were developed by agency Fuel Europe with the creative also appearing across press. Media buying is through MindShare.

Tim Ellis, global advertising director at Volvo, said: "The starting point of this campaign was the starting point of Volvo: 'Cars are driven by people.' In exploring this concept, the more we spoke to people about real life inside their cars, the more we understood just how powerful, important and intimate that experience can be."

Simon Pride, European director of Fuel Europe, said: "We have created a voice for Volvo and it appears to be working. We know there are a lot of Volvo buyers out there who just don't know it yet. This campaign is just one more step toward achieving that goal."

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