VIDEO: Volvo goes after tween vampire demographic with New Moon promotion
Click above to watch the video after the jump
Paying for product placement for big-screen movies can be a pretty risky business. If the movie is a flop, doing so could be a big-time waste of ad dollars that could have been better spent elsewhere. But if the movie turns out to be a global blockbuster, it can look like a very wise move, indeed. Volvo struck such gold with the first Twilight movie, as millions of teens saw Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) prancing around town in his silver C30. And the safety-minded Swedish automaker is looking for lightning to strike twice by getting its products noticed in Twilight sequel New Moon.
Cullen is a little older and a bit wiser in the sequel, so he appears to be stepping up from the C30 to the family-friendly XC60, although both models feature in the film. If you're thinking a crossover isn't exactly cool for the typical 17 year-old, try to remember that Cullen is over 100 in human years. Volvo's newest crossover makes perfect sense given the fact that it's the Swedish automaker's newest and freshest product, but we're having a bit of trouble trying to understand pushing a Volvo crossover in a vampire flick that gears towards teenage movie-goers.
Hit the jump to watch the 1:30 commercial, which doesn't begin until about 10 seconds into the YouTube clip. Volvo wants you to know that its vehicles give you the power to stand up for you what you believe in while also keeping what you believe in safe. If you're not into people haulers from Volvo, there are also plenty of dialog-free scenes from New Moon.
Gallery: Review: 2009 Volvo XC60
[Source: Volvo via YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Paul 4:03PM (11/11/2009)
They are actually using these in the movies because an S60R is featured in the book. Unfortunately there is no reason to put an R in a movie anymore...
- - no I did not read the book, but bookstores were looking for R owners to come to release parties so people could see whats his face's car or something like that.
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evilspoons 12:52AM (11/13/2009)
This made me very sad. Quite possibly the only thing I liked about the books my girlfriend is/was reading is the S60R. (I have one). Then it comes to the big screen and he's in a C30... ok, but it's not even a T5 R-Design! Come on!
mikemaj82 4:49PM (11/11/2009)
yea, push a $40,000 car on teenagers. lol
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Hamhock 12:00AM (11/12/2009)
Actually, if my daughter were 17 i think she'd probably be sharing one of these with her mother....more like chauferring her mother, actually, since she's an awful driver.....
Swede 4:05PM (11/11/2009)
I didnt get the message.
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Gruv 4:06PM (11/11/2009)
Dear Autoblog: I really don't care what 16 yr old girls think, or want. Please don't ever post anything like this again.
Thanks.
Andy 4:09PM (11/11/2009)
Mommy mommy, can we go buy a XC60? Pleeeaaassee!!! Sorry volvo, it just doesnt work that way.
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imoore 4:16PM (11/11/2009)
I don't care how old you are, the C30 is a chick car and the XC60 is a soccer mom wagon. What kind of wussy vampire drives chick cars?
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POV 4:33PM (11/11/2009)
Pity you for ascribing gender roles to cars. I suppose you will never know what it's like to drive some of them. Your loss.
British_Rover 4:38PM (11/11/2009)
Oddly every C30 I have sold has been to men. In fact nearly every C30 we have sold at our dealership has been two men. I can only think of two women. A mid 40s professional woman with three kids and a smoking hot 20 something who always wears half the amount of clothing that is appropriate for the weather.
Rev 7:08PM (11/11/2009)
I've driven modern Volvos including a new S40.
He isn't missing out on a thing.
fixitfixitstop 7:24PM (11/11/2009)
I'd drive a C30 in a heart beat. I've never seen a woman drive one.
Jrejre 11:02PM (11/11/2009)
"In fact nearly every C30 we have sold at our dealership has been TWO men."
Haha. . . that might be worse than calling it a chick car.
Bobmarley 4:19PM (11/11/2009)
Even my wife said these were dumb commercials
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StinkyPete 4:23PM (11/11/2009)
Sadly this further justifies my passing on the purchase C30 R-design this summer.
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Venom 4:27PM (11/11/2009)
This has got to be the lamest sh!t I have ever seen...
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HotRodzNKustoms 4:33PM (11/11/2009)
It doesn't make any sense to me for them to be using this movie to sell anything but the C30...
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British_Rover 4:39PM (11/11/2009)
Oh and this is not the lamest thing you have ever seen.
Sitting through a two plus hour long web conference call about this whole marketing campaign is the lamest thing you could ever see.
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k.w.a 4:41PM (11/11/2009)
Astonishingly cheesy.. it's adhering to what an average person would think of Volvo trying to be cool.
however, that xc60 is cool; maybe cool enough to actually get noticed in the film. I don't think many girls were able to look past Robert Pattinson to actually notice there was a c30 behind him, and the guys who were forced to watch Twilight were probably too busy gauging their eyes and ears out to notice it either.
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click_playaz 4:57PM (11/11/2009)
If Toyota uses Initial D movie to promote FT-86, it will be better than this 100 times. They would drift on the sharp corner, Unlike this ad.
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