#WhatTheTruck

Sometimes, the best way to build excitement is to hide in plain sight. That’s the route that Volvo Trucks took with “#WhatTheTruck,'' the ad campaign for its all-new Volvo VNL line of sustainable, premium, long-haul semi trucks–which includes thousands of innovative improvements over current VNL models. To amplify the unexpected for the campaign’s teaser video, which involves planting a top secret truck at…well, a truck stop, Volvo Trucks turned to Baldwin&, the North Carolina-based agency that specializes in building brands that make a difference.

Maximizing the element of surprise, “#WhatTheTruck”'s concept was devilishly simple: park a camouflage-wrapped Volvo VNL truck at a highly trafficked rest-stop with no explanation, context, Volvo markings or registration numbers, then watch real life-truckers react to its sleek design and premium tech features. The sole branding on them? The mysterious hashtag, “#WhatTheTruck”. Baldwin& says the inspiration partly came from the fact that Volvo had already been testing its top secret truck on highways and attracting social media attention among trucking groups – a truck-stop stunt was a natural next step.

“Volvo Trucks is shifting the conversation about the future of transportation, and they already had people publicly guessing what was up during their highway tests,” said Mitch Bennett, Executive Creative Director at Baldwin&. “So we thought, ‘If our goal is to get real-life truckers talking, let's give them something to talk about by parking our secret truck in the least secret place ever: a busy truck stop. For honest, unbiased reactions, we let the new Volvo VNL speak for itself without any indication of the brand. Over a day of filming, we saw driver after driver impressed and curious to learn more.”

Hidden cameras and mics captured people as they discovered and explored the truck’s exterior, while hired improv actors disguised as drivers helped rile them up, encouraging them to post photos using #WhatTheTruck. The teaser video release will support the influencer marketing arm of the campaign, and both kicked off on January 4. Alex Nino, the well-known 26 year-old trucking influencer, will post the “#WhatTheTruck” teaser, telling his 2.3 million TikTok followers to tune-in on January 23 – the date the truck is officially unveiled with a digital keynote reveal, kicking off the full 360 campaign. Volvo will also be using the “#WhatTheTruck” teaser film as part of a broader social media push to boost excitement and viewership for the unveiling. It will activate across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit and YouTube.