You’re never too young. At least in the minds of the folks at Toronto-based Volvo Cars of Canada, which is launching a children’s book to dovetail with the company’s new national advertising campaign.

Titled ‘The Roads Most Travelled,’ Volvo’s first children’s book is designed to include the youngster set in its core safety positioning.

‘Volvo has always had a strong family focus. And this is all part of engaging the whole family in a discussion of safety,’ says Doug Mepham, spokesman for Volvo.

Later this month, 13,000 copies of the book will be distributed in dealerships across the country. They will be sold or given away as gifts with purchase.

But the book is just part of a bigger campaign by Volvo’s AOR Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG focusing on Volvo’s all-wheel-drive vehicle. The effort – which kicked off in mid-October and will continue to unfold over the next few months – includes spots on networks like CBC and CTV. There is also a print campaign, beginning in publications such as the Globe and Mail, Autovision and Canadian Business, as well as outdoor, airport and in-store P-O-P.

The tagline of the advertising is ‘Making All Roads Safe’ and it is designed to change mindsets. Ron Tite, the Toronto-based agency’s senior writer, says people typically don’t think of Volvo when they think of travelling rough terrain or off-roading.

Each part of the campaign features a hazardous road condition – slippery, rainy or snowy roads – and a street sign that says ‘All Wheel Drive.’ The theme of the children’s book is somewhat broader, Tite explains. ‘I think it says to kids, ‘You’re going to travel down many roads and you can’t always plan those roads, but you can be prepared.”

The campaign is targeted at parents who are between 35 and 55, with an above average education and income.

Client: Volvo Cars of Canada

Agency: Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG

Print:

Creative Director: Tony Miller

Copywriter: Ron Tite

Art Director: Stacey Hill

Children’s book:

Copywriters: Tony Miller, Ron Tite

Art Director: Stacey Hill

Illustrator: Rebecca Buchanan