Astronaut Karen Nyberg ponders humanity's future in Polestar's first global campaign

Polestar, the Volvo-backed Swedish electric vehicle maker that is preparing to go public, debuted its first global campaign for its Polestar 2 model with an environmentally-themed spot narrated by American astronaut Karen Nyberg. The spot, created by Forsman & Bodenfors, centers on the idea of the "overview effect," the perspective that astronauts gain from being in space. In it, Nyberg recalls spending 180 days above the planet in 2013 as a flight engineer and how that allowed her to reflect on human advancement, the way we live now and the damage we're doing to the planet. "Our need to advance our species often comes at the expense of our home," she reflects. Forsman & Bodenfors Sweden was the global lead office on the account, but the partnership with Polestar involves the agency’s New York, Shanghai and Montreal offices to further develop and activate the campaign across regions. The brand campaign will run across key markets globally during the coming months, both in traditional and social media channels, including in the U.S. on TV from Oct. 22. Polestar was founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. The new campaign breaks ahead of the COP26 climate summit but also comes as Polestar is looking to expand its global marketing ahead of going public. Last month it was reported it has agreed to go public through a special purpose acquisition company at a $20bn valuation. “We were very drawn to the ‘overview effect’ and how this phenomenon changed Karen's outlook on life," commented Hampus Elfström, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors in Gothenburg, in a statement. "We wanted to capture the empathy she developed for our planet but also how technology can help us embrace life, both today and in the future. Her story became the lead act in the film and gave us the unique angle we needed to reflect a brand like Polestar."

Astronaut Karen Nyberg ponders humanity's future in Polestar's first global campaign

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