Västtrafik takes the fight to self-driving cars

Vastraffik's future of mobility

Everywhere you turn these days, there’s talk of autonomous vehicles – and nowhere is that buzzword more prevalent than in the car industry.

So, if you can’t beat them…why not join them?

Swedish transit agency Västtrafik is not an entity known for doing things ‘by the book’. One of its routes in the city of Göteborg, for example, uses opportunity-charging electric Volvos to drive straight through the middle of a city library to demonstrate how quiet and efficient the vehicles are.

In any case, this latest campaign doesn’t come as a surprise – but boy, is it beautiful.

Västtrafik’s agency, Forsman & Bodenfors, decided to borrow some of the hype surrounding self-driving cars and repurposed it – for a regular city bus.

The 45 second spot borrows pretty much every car advertising cliché that has ever been written. Gratuitous sweeping shots of gleaming metal and LED lighting, hand-stitched leather and sparkling chrome grilles coupled with dramatic music and fast action cuts lead you to believe you’re watching an advert for the next Bugatti.

That’s not all. The copy is delightful.

Words such as ‘electrified’, ‘mobile connected’ and ‘sustainable’ flash up between shots. ‘Delegated driving’ and ‘easy vehicle sharing’ are particular touches of genius, giving you an idea of the end product still to come.

And then…there’s the grand unveiling, which is straight out of Top Gear itself.

LED lights

Lights on, fluorescent bulbs flicker and a cheeky flash of the destination display come together to reveal the subject of the commercial in all it’s glory. A regular ol’ bus.

The advert is so beautiful because it’s so delightfully simple in its message. Long gone are the days of dirty diesel-belching metal boxes for the masses. Whatever a self-driving car will do in five, maybe 10 years’ time…we’re already doing with buses. You can charge your phone. It’s clean, and sustainable. Many people can travel comfortably together. And you certainly don’t need to drive it yourself.

The advert is running in cinemas across Sweden, and will also run across social media including Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

Are you drooling uncontrollably like us? Seen something similar? Write in the comments below, or drop us a tweet – @transportdsn.

gleaming metal

Images courtesy of Forsman & Bodenfors.

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