Driving change – lessons from Volvo in making ‘green’ advertising sing

Jo Bowman

Automaker Volvo believes that it is not only possible but vital to be truly creative and on-brand while also pushing a sustainability message.

Sustainability is the subject on every brand’s agenda as they ask not just how can they do “the right thing” but also communicate about their efforts in a way that stands out rather than gets lost in a green “sea of sameness”.

Ipsos and Volvo have been tackling this challenge, and told the MRS Sustainability Summit (London, November 2022) that it was possible to make magnificent sustainability advertising, not wallpaper.

The fear of making wallpaper – using the usual environmental tropes such as windmills, forests, icebergs and the like – stems from Ipsos research showing that while consumers want to...

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