Volvo Highlights Human Made Stories with Beautiful Film Series on Sky Atlantic

To celebrate its luxurious 90 range, Volvo Car UK has launched an original film series in partnership with Sky Atlantic. Human Made Stories, created by Grey London and shot by D.A.R.Y.L. through Pulse, premiered exclusively on channel Sky EPG 108 on 8 September and will be available on-demand for a year. The series – which launches with an initial three chapters – will also be promoted through 24 new idents (a continuation of Volvo’s sponsorship of the channel) and through social and digital. In a media first, it marks the first time Sky Atlantic has carried sponsor-made content on any of its platforms.

Human Made Stories also introduces a new ethos: ‘Human Made’. Human Made reflects the fact it is people, not cars, that drive the world forward, and thus aims to position the brand as a people-centric one; one which aims to make people’s lives less complicated. The film series itself portrays defiant pioneers: people who do things differently and go their own way, whose relentless pursuit of craft and innovation will change our world. These are people with the type of mindset that inspires each and every person at Volvo, every day. Featuring three vehicles from Volvo’s top-of-the-line range, the XC90, V90 and S90, the stories are told in three chapters, each representing a different aspect of the brand’s values of craft, pioneering and innovation.

Chapter 1: Oliver. Oliver Armitage’s lifelong pursuit is to find a solution which enables man and machine to work seamlessly together. Along with his team from Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems, the engineer is working on a project that could change the lives of amputees around the world.

Chapter 2: Maria & Josefin. Maria Rindstam and Josefin Arrhénborg saw the beautiful archipelago they had grown up in being destroyed by abandoned boats and decided to do something about it. The two entrepreneurs now salvage and recycle wrecks to preserve the natural environment for future generations. 

Chapter 3: Erik. Erik Johansson is a multiple award-winning photographer and retouch artist. By taking an engineering approach to his images, he captures ideas rather than moments; creating impossible worlds that make people think and challenge the idea of what is regarded as art today.

Erik Uvhagen, Senior Creative at Grey London, says: “With this film series Volvo steps away from traditional advertising and enters the world of modern entertainment. Human Made Stories introduces the new 90 range on a platform people associate with their favourite shows. Instead of interrupting people’s lives, Volvo enriches it. That’s exactly how a human-centric brand should behave.”

Wiktor Skoog, Strategic Design Director, Grey London, adds: “Volvo’s partnership with Sky Atlantic is all about the telling of great stories. With Human Made Stories we wanted to give remarkable individuals, who are pioneers in their field of work, an opportunity to tell theirs. Because at the end of the day these are the kind of people Volvo design their cars for.

As an agency we are incredibly happy to make a new shape of work. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Also, it’s not every day you see your work being featured in the TV guide.”

Zai Bennett, Channel Head at Sky Atlantic, concludes: “We are thrilled to be working with our channel sponsor Volvo to continue what is a truly great partnership.  Volvo’s Human Made Stories align perfectly with our own values; immersive, cinematic and thought provoking, and so we are excited to be showing these short films exclusively to our viewers both on-air and onDemand”.

Georgina Williams, Head of Marketing at Volvo Car UK adds: “Everything we do at Volvo centres on people – we want to make life easier, safer and more enjoyable. So every innovation is designed to simplify and improve the lives of those who drive a Volvo. In Human Made Stories, we wanted to profile people who share that ethos. Oliver, Maria, Josefin and Erik are all so genuine in their mission to push boundaries and make the world a better place. They are each relentless in their pursuit of craft and innovation to drive the world forward – a trait shared by Volvo.”