I don’t want to whine here, but I’ve got some kind of stomach thing that’s got me out of commission for the most part. So, I’m just going to repost something here that I posted on my other blog. Sure, it has zero to do with legal marketing. But it’s about advertising, and that’s at least in the same ballpark, right? Here goes:

Three times this week I’ve seen a billboard that says:

So today during my lunch break I actually went to the site. Let me ask you this: isn’t your immediate thought that Volvo is soliciting stories from people and giving away cars? That was my thought.

With that in mind, I went to the site. A couple of my favorite people are expecting a baby in January and they don’t have a car. Knowing that Volvos are all about safety, I thought it would be cool if I could write a nice, heartfelt story about them and how a Volvo would improve their lives, and maybe they’d actually win one. It would be one hell of a surprise and a very nice wedding/baby gift, right?

So, I went to the site. And it looks like this:

But before filling anything out, I noticed a link that says: Before uploading, please take a moment to read our FAQs.

I clicked there and the first sentence says:

Is there a Volvo vehicle being given away as part of the “Who Would You Give A Volvo To?”" campaign?
No. The WWYGAVT campaign is intended to make people think about the safety initiatives Volvo has taken in vehicle development and therefore why they would consider a Volvo for the special individuals in their lives.

Right. So I’m supposed to write a story or send in a video about why I would give a Volvo to my friends because it will make me think of the safety initiatives Volvo has taken on.

What?

By thinking of who I would give a Volvo to, and submitting an entry with absolutely zero to gain, Volvo thinks it’s going to sell more cars? I just don’t understand this campaign. It makes zero sense to me.Edit: Adrants picked up on my post here.

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