Volvo: Exclusively Online

For the European launch of the new Volvo R, the venerable Swedish automaker took the unusual step - for an automaker, anyway - of launching exclusively on the Internet. But rather than barrage web surfers with pop-ups and overlays, Volvo tapped UK-based interactive shop Flashtalking and its Flash4-based technology for the assignment.

What makes the campaign unique, according to Flashtalking managing director Paul Cunningham, is that the ads look as good at 56K as they do on broadband. "Making video look good on broadband is relatively simple - what's difficult is getting decent-quality video to play reasonably well on narrowband," he explains. "The typical video of ours will play within four or five seconds on narrowband, and it's true video quality. It's not just a sequence of stills dropped in." The ad file itself is a mere 12K in size, meaning that it can run on nearly every site without any complications, Cunningham adds.

The Flashtalking ads, which debuted Tuesday, feature footage shot exclusively for use on the web. In the primary ad, the Volvo R can be seen whipping around a race track; the Volvo R web site allows users to view that footage from a variety of camera angles (aerial view, driver's perspective, outside the car).

Next up for Flashtalking: a U.S. road show in September and, ideally, more work from grocery and packaged goods companies. "Ad agencies are treating the web as above-the-line media, which is very exciting for us," Cunningham says.

The Flashtalking Volvo ad can be viewed here.

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