Nils Bohlin invented something in 1959 that has since saved the lives of millions. At the time, it was seen as “unconstitutional” and a “violation of human rights.” Volvo shows its past as it looks to the future – and shows an unfortunate pattern in humans’ fear of change.

61 years ago Bohlin created the V-type three-point safety belt for Volvo. He redesigned the belt to be safer and more comfortable than the prior two-point waist belt design. Volvo patented the seat belt, as one does. However, they immediately made the patent available to encourage mass adoption and save lives. 

Volvo’s innovating again

Volvo uses this spot to show the poor reaction people had to their introduction to their three-point seatbelt. You can watch it for yourself. But it wasn’t good. They use real-life car accident survivors to narrate and show the importance of the seatbelt. They illustrate the reaction of the public and the media calling the invention a “terrible idea.” Forsman & Bodenfors worked with director Laerke Hethoni at New Land and European composer Jacob Mühlrad. They bridge the survivors to Volvo’s future technology of speed limits on all cars and in-car cameras to help prevent drunk or distracted driving.

The campaign will air on TV globally, out-of-home ads, and social channels in Volvo’s efforts to promote the brand’s safety credentials. It has a call-to-action of going to their website volvocars.com/a-million-more to listen to the stories of survivors and read more about Volvo’s dedication to safety.

Change is hard

To generalize and say that all people hate change would be just that – a generalization. Although, I think that it’s common to see. When people saw that the seatbelt had changed, they resisted. They didn’t use it. They said that no one could tell them what to do with their life.

Now we know how many lives have been saved because of it. Millions.

This narrative seems like deja-vu. Some currently believe face masks are “unconstitutional,” “pointless,” and “a human right violation.” Even when returning from the hospital due to COVID, Trump still refused to wear one. We haven’t had the virus around for over 60 years. Masks aren’t a save all. But, I wonder how many lives we could have saved if we all used them.

I won’t bore you with a political rant. Nonetheless, I think that we can take something away from this. People often are resistant to change. The way we introduce new ideas and innovations is important.

It’s too soon to see what the reaction will be to Volvo’s changes. It probably won’t be too harsh being that most people are distracted by a pandemic, a volatile economy, elections – just to state a few. Also, the target audience for Volvo isn’t people “too cool” for safety. Still, it’ll serve as an example of how to start the conversation of change.