Van Damme does the splits for Volvo Trucks

A split between two reversing trucks

On 14 November 2013 Volvo Trucks published a film on YouTube in which Jean-Claude Van Damme stands with one foot on the side mirror of each of two Volvo FM trucks as they drive backwards, and sinks slowly into the splits as the trucks drift apart.^1,2,3 "The Epic Split feat. Van Damme" was created by the agency Forsman & Bodenfors and directed by Andreas Nilsson, with Enya's "Only Time" as its soundtrack.^4,5 A line on screen names the purpose: the test "was set up to demonstrate the stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic steering."⁶ The film made a technical feature of a commercial vehicle the subject of a piece of entertainment, and in doing so gave the Volvo Trucks brand a reach far beyond the people who buy trucks.

Which Volvo this is

Volvo Trucks is part of AB Volvo, the Volvo Group. Volvo Cars is a separate company: AB Volvo sold Volvo Car Corporation to Ford in 1999, and Volvo Cars has been owned by Geely Holding Group since 2010.⁷ Both companies still use the Volvo name and the iron mark, which are held by Volvo Trademark Holding AB, a company owned equally by AB Volvo and Volvo Car Corporation.⁷ For the shared name, the Epic Split is therefore one of the most widely seen pieces of Volvo communication, even though it advertises no car.

The product as the stunt

Volvo Dynamic Steering adds an electric motor to the steering shaft that works with the hydraulic power steering; an electronic control unit adjusts it about 2,000 times per second, easing low speed steering and compensating for crosswinds and road bumps.³ Jan-Inge Svensson, the engineer behind the development of the system's software at Volvo Trucks, called the film "the perfect demonstration of the directional stability Volvo Dynamic Steering can offer".³

The film was shot on a newly built airport in Ciudad Real, Spain, that was not yet open to traffic, chosen for its long, straight and smooth surface.⁴ Van Damme wore safety wires, which were removed in post-production.⁴ Mikael Rosell, one of the two drivers, recalled: "We rehearsed for eight days without Van Damme on the mirrors." And: "We only needed one single take with him early that morning as the sun was rising."⁸ Instead of asserting precision, Volvo Trucks let viewers watch two drivers hold a man's balance with their steering.

The sixth Live Test

Volvo Trucks had appointed Forsman & Bodenfors in 2010, ahead of the 2012 launch of its new European range, its first major launch in 20 years.⁹ The Live Test series began in August 2012 with "The Ballerina Stunt", in which the highliner Faith Dickey walked a wire between two moving trucks, followed by "The Technician", "The Hook", with Volvo Trucks president Claes Nilsson standing on a truck suspended above Gothenburg harbour, "The Hamster Stunt" and "The Chase".⁹ The films were meant to support marketing in Volvo Trucks' 140 local markets.⁹ Lars Terling, Volvo vice president marketing communications, described the brief to the agency: "We were looking for a strategic partner that could help us out-smart our competitors with an unconventional take."⁹ The Epic Split was the sixth film in a format that had taught audiences to expect a real test behind every spectacle.

Reach and recognition

The film drew 6.5 million views on its first day and had passed 59 million by 11 December 2013.² By June 2014 Volvo Trucks reported over 73 million views, calling it the most watched automotive ad on YouTube, while the Live Test films together had over 100 million views.¹⁰ On YouTube the film now counts more than 128 million views.¹ Enya's song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 43.⁶

At Cannes Lions in 2014 the campaign won 20 awards, including eight gold and two Grand Prix, one in Cyber and one in Film.¹⁰ The film also took the Best in Show award from The One Club, a D&AD Black Pencil and the Film Grand Prix at Eurobest.⁶ In 2015 the Live Test series received the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix at Cannes.¹¹ Inside the group, Volvo Dynamic Steering won the Volvo Technology Award 2014, and Olof Persson, President and CEO, said it "elevates the steering of heavy commercial vehicles to an entirely new level."¹²

A business-to-business brand in public

Per Nilsson, Director Public Relations at Volvo Trucks, read the result as a statement about the category: "We have shown that we can produce world-class communication about business-to-business products".¹⁰ On how the film worked, he said: "The more emotions and reactions the film evokes, the more conversations are started".² According to Volvo Trucks, almost half of the truck buyers surveyed who had seen the launch films said they were now more likely to choose Volvo for their next truck.¹⁰

The Epic Split shows a business-to-business brand using a mass audience as its medium. Few of its viewers will ever buy a heavy truck, yet the film's circulation could reach the much smaller group that does, and it gave Volvo Trucks a cultural presence usually associated with consumer brands.