F&B won rather a lot of applause last year for its creativity in showing that Volvo vehicles are tough. That applause wasn’t all about Van Damme’s Epic Split.
Forsman & Bodenfors described its 2014 Made by Sweden campaign for Volvo cars, “Together with Zlatan Ibrahimovic we have done a celebration to Sweden. It’s our country’s unique nature that inspires and challenge the people at Volvo when they develop their cars. It’s also here, at home, in the magnificent wilderness that they find their strength. Just as Zlatan does.”
This year, the fortitude inherent in all Swedes is used to explain Volvo’s brand personality.
Forsman & Bodenfors has kicked off 2015 with a 4 minute film that shows why Volvo cars have to be tough. Director, Gustav Johansson, explores Sweden in January – the month in which the country shows its harshest side, with rain, snow, cold, wind and sun that hardly rises above the horizon.
January, the Swedish agency knows first hand, is the period that most defines Swedes. While people from all over the world flock to Sweden during the warm summer periods to see the sights in comfort and enjoy the hours of extended daylight, only Sweden’s residents choose to stay there voluntarily when “the great melancholy” rolls in.
This new brand film underlines F&B’s idea that with the darkness and cold comes a special strength and creativity that affects everything from the music the Swedes create to the cars that they build.
Johansson wanted to capture visually the feeling of vemod. It’s one of the most Swedish words but doesn’t have a clear or direct translation in English. “Vemod is a complex emotion and a cultural phenomenon, comprising a tender sadness or melancholy mixed with a feeling of longing.” From vemod comes the power and beauty that Johansson feels is a hallmark of the Swedish people – and Volvo claims as the hallmark of its cars.
The film was produced by Johansson’s production company, New Land – shot over a period of 11 days. Swedish singer/songwriter, Amanda Bergman, created the soundtrack that powers the short film’s magnetic quality, and Oskar Linnros produced it.
Creative credits:
Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Art director: Andreas Malm & Staffan Lamm
Copywriter: Fredrik Jansson
Production company: New Land
Director: Gustav Johansson
Director of Photography: Niklas Johansson
Editor: Sam Ostrove
Executive producer: Erik Torell
Post production and sound design: STOPP (Stockholm Post Production)
Musical artist: Amanda Bergman
Written by: Ted Ström
Produced by: Oskar Linnros
