Safely Feel The Real World X Volvo X Durex

I just directed a five-minute short film, a cross-category collaboration between two major international brands: Volvo and Durex. The film is about a fantasy tour around 'Safely Feel The Real World', which was released on White Day on March 14 and has attracted tens of millions of views and discussions in China.

Some Awards
The Official Selection at the 43th Brussels Independent Film Festival, which is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, it was rated as Top 50 Best Film festivals by ifilmfestival. The Official Selection at 23nd Beverly Hills Film Festival. Best Animation at 10th Noida International Film Festivals. Best Micro Films at Cannes World Film Festival. Best Commercial at New York International Film Awards. Best Animation at Berlin Indie Film Festival. Best VFX at Cannes Shorts. Won Gold & Silver in London International Awards. Won a Gold, a Silver and a Bronze Awards at AD STARS Film category. Won a Bronze Statue at Clio Health Awards. Won a Bronze Pencil and a Merit Awards at One Show. Won a Bronze Cube and a Merit Awards in 100th NY ADC. Won a wood pencil at D&AD , winning a pencil is really hard for Asian film, The most challenging and demanding creative award in world.

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Safely Feel The Real World for Volvo and Durex

Creative Agency：Amber Shanghai

Director：Jody Xiong 熊超

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Challenge

001 condoms (thinness of 0.01mm) is the standard for ultra-thin in China.

However, Durex arrived late to the category, only launching a 001 line after extensive R&D. For such a thin condom, ‘breakability’ is a top concern among target audiences (young adult males). To assuage safety concerns and justify itself as a 001 latecomer, Durex needed prove itself as the safest 001 condom on the market.

Cultural Context

In China, condom ads have many restrictions: no products can appear, nor can “association elements” such as beds. To convey Durex 001 on film, we designed symbolic motifs—an invisible forcefield protecting "001 Island” and animal pairs with sexual connotations in Chinese folklore. Additionally, Volvo’s brand perception has more instantly recognizable safety associations in the Chinese market.

Solution

Durex 001 collaborated with Volvo XC40 to co-release a short film.

Colored in signature Durex 001 colors (black and gold), the animation follows a couple who wakeup from a VR simulated dream and escape to a safe reality on “001 Island.”

In the visual narrative between the two brands,「safety」is a sexy and apparent benefit, one that allows us to approach intimacy and embrace reality. At the most critical moment in this film, In a very original way,

a glass-like stomach and a metal esophagus are used to emphasize Volvo’s strong four-wheel drive, ground grip and other safety features. During the chase, there is an invisible force field that bounces the ape off twice emphasizing the security

of the extremely thin Durex 001 condom.

Result

Launching on ‘White Lover Day’ (a Chinese holiday similar to Valentine’s Day),

the film project went live for a total of seven days from March 12—19th, 2021.

The film ran on the three largest social platforms in China—WeChat, Weibo and Douyin (Chinese TikTok), and was published on Durex and Volvo’s social accounts.

This caused a sensation in the Chinese marketing industry where the common strategy is just to advertise directly on the selling point. A 5-minute, relatively long film gaining nearly ten million views on social media,it is a marvel.

Short Screenshots Pictures