A new global campaign from Volvo, emphasizing its cars' safety features, takes inspiration from “parent saves” memes on social media, where parents save their children from potentially dangerous situations at the very last second.

The main spot, by Forsman & Bodenfors, shows a couple of harried parents coping with the demands of young twins, frantically child-proofing their home amid repeated diaper changes and attempts to stop their children disappearing under the sofa. It's humorous stuff, but there's a serious twist towards the end of the spot, where Mom goes driving is so tired she starts falling asleep at the wheel. Luckily, the car's safety features mean that she's saved from oncoming traffic when she starts drifting in the middle of the road. The film ends with the message: ”The car that looks after you, like you look after others."

The TV spot, directed by New Land's Niclas Larsson, stars two well-known Swedish actors Fares Fares ("Chernobyl") and Ana Gil de Melo Nascimento, and is set to Pete Seeger's ”Hard times in the Mill,” from the 1956 album ”American Industrial Ballads." The film was shot in Stockholm this July, with all precautions taken with respect to Covid-19.

The wider campaign also includes digital spots featuring real-life "parent save" clips sourced from the internet. 

 ”We want to show how the Volvo XC60 and XC90 are the ultimate family cars. That we understand how challenging being a parent can be, and Volvo is here to support them. The safety features in our cars are there to protect both you and the ones you love, and we think this campaign shows that in both a humorous and relatable way”, said Louise Ahlström, brand project manager at Volvo Cars.

The campaign runs globally, starting off in Europe this month followed by the U.S., China and other markets.