Volvo, the Swedish car manufacturer best known for its safety and dependability, is receiving high praise from pro-life and pro-family outlets over a recent ad that champions the value of children and by extension, the importance of marriage.
The nearly four-minute ad is promoting the Volvo EX90, an electric vehicle that the manufacturer claims is the “safest Volvo car ever made.”
We see Kate sharing the results of a pregnancy test with Andy. His stunned expression suggests joy but also nervousness. Andy then shares the exciting news with his mother over the phone, confiding to her that he’s scared. She asks why.
“About it all!” he replies. “You know, the nights, the responsibility. We’re going to need a bigger place.”
Assured by his mother the extended family will be there to help, we then see a series of events – some current, others a few years into the future. Still other moments depicted are decades off, and they all revolve around Kate and Andy’s yet-to-be born daughter named Lea.
Some of the events are sweet – others are difficult. There’s giggling and laughing and yelling – an arc of emotion designed to capture the journey and adventure of parenthood.
The crux of the advertisement, of course, is Volvo’s attempt to show how safe and family-friendly the EX90 is. They attempt to convince viewers by showing a grown Lea walking across a crosswalk and almost being run over by a woman driving – you guessed it – a Volvo EX90.
Thanks to the safety features of the car, the driver is able to stop just in time. Nobody is killed. Nobody is even hurt. A message comes on the screen:
“Sometimes the moments that never happen matter the most.”
It’s a simple but true and profound statement. As Christians, we recognize that God’s grace, mercy and favor save us from countless bad things – matters related to our physical safety, especially.
The ad is resonating with those of us who champion the preborn because it also applies to the critical decisions made every day by abortion minded women.
When a woman chooses life, she’s thwarting a litany of tragedy. Abortion erases a future and introduces a lifetime of pain and regret for those who commit it. When a woman says “no” to abortion she’s saying “yes” to all the emotions and adventures Volvo captures so well in the ad.
We also resonate with the ad because it celebrates the joy of the journey of life. There’s a wonderful romance to marriage and parenthood. The happiest people aren’t free from struggle and strife. Great satisfaction and fulfillment come from working our way through challenges with a spouse and children.
The warmth of Volvo’s ad contrasts with the wokeness of Jaguar, the luxury car manufacturer who released a 30-second spot featuring weird, androgynous individuals, plus a man wearing a dress. They don’t even picture a car. It includes such phrases as “Create Exuberant,” “Break Moulds,” and “Delete Ordinary.”
After marketing stupidity like that, it’s likely buyers will delete Jaguar from their list of possible cars to purchase.
Volvo is clearly targeting a different audience, which is why they also featured a less than laudatory storyline in their ad. While Andy is sharing the joy of their forthcoming child, he says to his mother, “She might be the reason we tie the knot.”
Come on, Andy. You should know better than that.
But given that 76% of marriages that took place between 2015 and 2019 were preceded by cohabitation, it’s no wonder the agency scripting the spot folded that detail in. But it’s nevertheless unfortunate. The social science is clear that cohabitation weakens future marriages, and weak marriages harm the welfare of children.
But that detail aside, Volvo deserves high marks for framing and lifting up the joys of parenthood. But watch your wallet – the new 7-seater E90X SUV starts at $79,995.
The post Good for Volvo for Marketing to People Who Love Children appeared first on Daily Citizen.
Daily Citizen