Volvo Illustrates How Human Behavior Influences Its Design in This Stylish Spot

Volvo's latest spot from the U.K. is a stylish film that sets out to show how its design isn't just shiny technology, but influenced by human beings.

The ad, by Grey London, intersperses the kind of footage you'd expect from a Volvo ad -- cars gliding along snowy Swedish roads -- with scenes featuring people, making a connection between human behavior and the car's functionality. For example, a man sitting on a porch absently-mindedly stroking the side of a chair is followed by a hand running along the smooth car interior; a person charging their smartphone is followed by a shot of a car being plugged into a charging point and a woman looking at a map on her phone is followed by shots of the car's own mapping screen. The tagline is: "First we understand. Then we make."

The spot was filmed in Sweden and was directed by Joe O'Connor of You Are Here (who recently helmed Coldplay's "Everglow" video). "This wasn't just a case of shooting a beautiful commercial," said Connor, for whom it's his first car ad. "In true Scandinavian style this was a challenge to translate an idea as simply, economically and gracefully as possible. Each shot had to deliver an emotional resonance and a tactile connection to the previous shot and do it all with the deftest of touches."