I just read this article in Adweek about Volvo’s new campaign, which is pretty brilliant.

The campaign goes after Mercedes and Audi, positioning the brand as luxury for real people, a strategy that we don’t often see in the world of luxury marketing. Here’s the TV spot that executes the strategy perfectly:

What this campaign taps into is something that’s not completely new, but just in development over the past 5 years or so – the luxury audience’s backlash against all things pretentious. That lady in the Mercedes exists. But you can bet your bank account that she doesn’t consider herself to be pretentious. She thinks she’s the most down-to-earth woman on the planet.

Today, nobody – not even those in the UHNW category – wants to be seen as the next Louis Winthorpe, III, nor do they think of themselves that way, no matter how close to the character they may actually be.

This makes sense in light of other things we’ve learned about affluent audiences, particularly their lack of loyalty to brands. The playing field is wide open for most luxury brands or value brands whose quality is high enough that they can “sell up.”  Volvo’s new positioning is a great way to find a bigger seat at the luxury auto table. If the quality of the XC60 is proven, Volvo just might have the right recipe to steal some market share from the big boys.

Great job, Arnold Worldwide, on a smart, creative campaign.