In the 1990 movie Crazy People, comedian Dudley Moore plays an advertising man who comes up with a somewhat unfortunate slogan for selling Swedish automobiles. “Volvos: They’re boxy, but they’re good,” says the banner. Then it doubles down with, “We know they’re not sexy. This is not a smart time to be sexy anyway, with so many new diseases around.”
The joke is that advertisers can’t afford to tell the truth, and Moore’s idea to be bluntly honest doesn’t fly with his colleagues. But here’s the thing: when it comes to Volvo, forthright advertising is part of the company’s heritage.
The real-life ad executive behind Volvo’s golden age of print advertising was a man named Ed McCabe. A high-school dropout, McCabe worked his way up from the mailroom in the sort of pull-up-your-own-bootstraps story that’d have made a solid character arc on Mad Men.
First, McCabe cut his teeth trying to sell the impossible: Skoda, Isetta, and Lloyd. You’ve probably never even heard of a Lloyd 600, but rest assured, they were terrible. But also kind of cute.
However, when Volvo came knocking, McCabe was now dealing with a product that had substance. The trick was, how best to define that substance to the consumer? The first step was taking the battle to the enemy.
The war with Detroit
Volvos are a lot more complex these days, but in times past their simplicity was a boon. Volvos were durable, they didn’t change much year to year, and they were small and thrifty to run.
It this is starting to sound a bit like what Volkswagen was like in the 1960s, then it should be no surprise that Volvo’s advertising took inspiration from VW’s. Volkswagen pioneered simple, humorous, and clever advertising, while its Detroit rivals preferred to show glitz and glamour with fussy drawings.
A period Volvo ad linking the Swedish brand to the popular Volkswagen Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad imploring buyers to “beat the system” Photo by Volvo
Volvo went so far as to point out that a good place to find a used VW was at a Volvo dealership, claiming the same simplicity as the German marque, but pointing out that the Swedish products were a step up. They also took aim at Detroit’s culture of planned obsolescence: “Beat the system, buy a Volvo.”
A souped-down Ferrari
But Volvo ads were also fun. When the P1800 coupe came out, Volvo played up what a bargain it was compared to the likes of a Ferrari or Maserati. The P1800’s humble four-cylinder underpinnings couldn’t match the performance of the Italians, but just mentioning them in the same breath cast glory on the little Swede.
“What’s it like to own a $10,000 car?” one ad queried. “Find out for $3995.”
A Volvo ad comparing the car to a Ferrari Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad comparing the 1800S to a much more expensive sports car Photo by Volvo
Unchanging value
Another tactic Volvo excelled at was pointing out how little its cars changed year over year. “If you’re always running out of money, maybe it’s because you’re always running out of cars,” read the copy.
Volvo’s advertisers touted the fact that the average Swedish-owned Volvo lasted eleven years enduring rough roads and harsh winters. It’d be around as long as you wanted it to be, reliable and not costing you money. And handing down a used Volvo would become part of a family tradition. “Old Volvos never die,” another well-known ad touted. “They just pass on.”
A Volvo ad suggesting they “never die” Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad touting the car’s value Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad touting the car’s value Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad touting the car’s value Photo by Volvo
Stacks on stacks
Another favourite of Volvo advertisers was stacking the cars on top of each other. Volvo loved stacking, as it was such a visually effective way to show the safety of the cars.
While reliability and durability built the brand image first, safety soon became a key focus. Volvo was forever putting crashed cars in ads, sometimes ones wrecked in testing, sometimes ones where a customer had walked away without a scratch. The image of a 700 series sedan plummeting off a bridge to its doom is not a tactic you’d use to sell a BMW. But it underlined how the Volvo brand equaled safety first.
A Volvo ad demonstrating the car’s safety Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad demonstrating the car’s safety Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad demonstrating the car’s safety Photo by Volvo
Swedish speed
Lastly, the era of turbocharging provided a chance for Volvo to spice things up a little. Everyone already new Volvos were boxy, sane, and safe, but the company’s turbocharged models were also decently quick. How best to get that message across?
The answer was to get pretty cheeky, showing a Lamborghini Countach with a trailer; or parking a 740 wagon next to a Porsche 944 with the line, “To a radar gun, they look exactly the same.”
A Volvo ad featuring a Lamborghini towing a trailer Photo by Volvo
A Volvo ad featuring a Porsche Photo by Volvo
Today, these ads are fan favourites, especially the later wagon ones. As a modern company, Volvo has moved upscale, and you can’t quite get away with the same quips in advertising any more. There’s no way getting caught by a radar speed trap would ever be praised these days.
But for a time, Volvos were simple and its advertising was fun. They were boxy, but they were also good.
Keyword: The '60s through '80s was Volvo's golden age of advertising