Advertising: Volvo still smashing it as Jean-Claude does extreme splits

Oh Volvo Trucks where have you been all my life?! From impinging very little on my cultural compass until a few short months ago, the Swedish manufacturer has dazzled and delighted us with a series of funny, unexpected and powerfully communicative adverts over recent weeks. Back in September we sung the praises of a spot which saw the company’s president perched precariously on a truck suspended over Gothenburg harbour and now they’ve topped that with the help of the Muscles from Brussels.

Jean-Claude van Damme is seen stood between the cabs of two trucks, incanting the philosophy of his body, before the trucks begin to part and he does what any right-thinking 1990s action hero would do. The song that kicks in (which I won’t spoil) adds a superb layer of melodrama to these super-silly proceedings.