Volvo XC40 is the Ultimate Safety City Car in Slick Campaign

”Cars should adapt to cities and the people who live there, not the other way around. And that’s exactly what we wanted to highlight with this campaign. From a creative standpoint, the sound design, the reveal, and the writing were meant to capture a simple yet powerful celebration of everyone we share the road with. No matter if you’re a cyclist, runner, or just walk around the city listening to music,” said Hampus Elfström, copywriter at Forsman & Bodenfors in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The main campaign assets consist of three films, each portraying a pedestrian, a cyclist, and a runner in a city environment. They all start with clips of the XC40 and a narrator seemingly celebrating the car, the freedom it brings and it's effortless motion. But each film ends with the camera panning away from the car, showing who it was really celebrating; a cyclist, a pedestrian, and a runner. The narrator, British-Jamaican singer and actress Mahalia, ends by stating: “The streets belong to you”.

The campaign was shot in Stockholm during the summer of 2020, with precautions taken with respect to the pandemic. Playing the part of the runner is Mustafa 'Musse' Mohamed, globally renowned Swedish long-distance runner with prominent positions in both European and World championships.