Volvo names treasure hunt finalists

Stuart Waterman — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:01:00 EST

Aar, maties! You can put yer pencils down, Volvo has named the finalists in the hunt for its buried "Pirates of the Caribbean"-themed XC90. The seven piratical finalists include four from the U.S. and one each from the U.K., Japan, Spain and Austria.

The four-week puzzle contest will wrap up in dramatic fashion August 6, when the finalists will be flown to an undisclosed location to compete face-to-face in the final leg of the treasure hunt, a two-day Survivor-like physical and mental test leading them to the Volvo's location. First to dig it up, keeps the car.

The winning pirate will be announced August 11, and Volvo will air a series of reality TV-style online broadcasts of the final competition starting August 24.

So, has the contest been a marketing success so far? Well, if the more than 1,200(!) comments to our original post about the contest are any indication, someone in Volvo's marketing department deserves a raise. In the U.S. alone, more than 52,000 wannabe pirates visited Volvo showrooms to pick up the contest treasure map. Yo-ho-ho!

[Source: Volvo]

Volvo names treasure hunt finalists originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shiver me timbers! Volvo launches treasure hunt for buried SUV

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:07:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Contests, Volvo

Arrrr, mateys! Have you ever fancied one o' them thar XC90s, Billy? Well, here's Billy's chance - on Monday Volvo Car Corporation kicked off a treasure hunt for a buried XC90 V8 to support its promotion of Disney's upcoming movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" - no swordplay required.

Here's how it works: you pick up a treasure map at your local Volvo dealer, then sign up at the treasure hunt website. Clues and puzzles are emailed to participants, and if you answer correctly, you remain in the hunt and get more clues. The contest wraps up July 12, when Volvo selects seven finalists from the group of treasure hunters who correctly answered all the clues.

Finalists are flown to the secret car burial location, handed shovels and compete to find the car. The first to dig up the Volvo gets to keep it.

This isn't the first time Volvo's donned the corporate eyepatch and played pirate. Disney is the main sponsor of Volvo's entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, and the appropriately named Black Pearl (pictured) is currently in second place heading into the closing stage of the race, which finishes this weekend in Sweden.

[Source: Volvo]

Shiver me timbers! Volvo launches treasure hunt for buried SUV originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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