Blind Spot Billboard
Volvo Belgium
Issue 58 | March 2021
Agency
FamousGrey
Creative Team
Creative Director Peter Ampe Creative team Vanessa Hendrickx, Antoine Wellens
Production Team
Experience Director Maarten Breda Digital designer Sacha Lempereur Digital Strategist Wies Dickens Webmaster Stijn Swinnen
Other Credits
Account Director Olivia Naudts Account Manager Matthias Roose Account Executive Klaartje Vanmulders Partners FishEye 3D design & software development, Clear Channel
Date
February 2021
Background
The blind spot is one of the main causes of serious or fatal bicycle accidents.
As far back as 2004, Volvo was trying to deal with the problem, creating the first blind spot detector. Now in 2021, with the increasing number of cyclists in cities (+64% by 2020) Volvo has revived the importance of its BLIS (Blind Spot Information) system. Now, as then, Volvo’s innovation has not been patented, enabling any car manufacturer to adapt and use their technology.
Idea
Instead of talking about BLIS in the advertising, the idea was to use the advertising to demonstrate it.
On the busiest road in Brussels, Volvo installed a digital display equipped with a blind spot detector. Similar to the sensor that Volvo car models are equipped with, this detector recognised cyclists and warned car drivers about their presence.
The display not only showed the blind spot warning but also measured the distance between the cyclist and the display in real time. To ensure the warning worked 24-hours a day, the digital display was programmed to switch from day to night version.
Our Thoughts
Because people have been avoiding public transport during the pandemic, more people have been cycling. Though I can’t find the statistics for Brussels, accidents involving cycles in London are up 30%.
As well as being a relevant and timely response to driving conditions right now, this is also a brilliant exposition of Volvo’s strategy. By dramatising how safe their cars are to those outside them, they reinforce the core idea of how safe they are for those inside. It is unsurprising, then, that in January 2021 Volvo reported “strongest second-half sales in company history.” And this despite the pandemic.