Issue Number: 381

When Volvo planned its comeback in Saudi Arabia, the challenge was not just to announce a return, but to redefine how stories are told. LION, the creative agency behind the "Come Back Stronger" campaign, took a different approach. Instead of a traditional production involving actors, crews, location shoots and months of work, they turned to AI. But AI did not take centre stage. It was a tool, shaped and guided by human creativity to craft something entirely new.

Taking on the Challenge: Embodying Volvo’s Values

Volvo’s legacy is built on five core values: customer success, trust, passion, change and performance. These principles guided LION’s approach, ensuring that every decision reflected Volvo’s ethos.

LION embraced change, rethinking traditional brand storytelling with an AI-driven approach. The process required trust, from both the client and the agency, in emerging technology while ensuring human creativity remained in control. 

Passion was the driving force. The team pushed AI to its limits, testing and refining outputs to craft something unique. The focus on performance ensured the campaign met high creative and strategic standards, proving that AI, when directed by human insight, could deliver something extraordinary.

Rethinking the Brand Film

Traditional brand films follow a familiar formula. Big productions, high costs and long timelines. LION questioned this model. Could AI help push creative boundaries while keeping storytelling authentic?

Instead of assembling a large scale production, they worked across multiple AI platforms to generate imagery, motion sequences and text to video elements. The result was a campaign that significantly cut production costs, saving millions, while achieving a visually striking and emotionally engaging outcome.

The Human Touch: Directing the AI

"AI allowed us to move differently, but it did not replace the core of storytelling. We directed it, adjusted it and gave it meaning. It was a tool, not the storyteller," said Osama Siddiq, Co Founder and Executive Creative Director of LION.

AI did not replace the creative process. It expanded it. LION’s team carefully curated and refined thousands of AI generated frames, ensuring they aligned with Volvo’s brand values and resonated with audiences. They debated every shot, adjusted compositions and shaped the visuals to create a compelling narrative.

But AI had limitations. It could generate images, but it could not build emotion. Music was composed and recorded in professional studios. Voice-overs were chosen to enhance the emotional depth of the film. The final edit was assembled by human storytellers who understood how to bring everything together. The result was not an automated output, but a deeply considered film that blended technology with creativity.

Lessons Learned and the Future of Storytelling

"AI is forcing us to rethink what is possible, but the real revolution is not in the technology itself. It is in how we as creatives adapt, challenge conventions and use these tools to elevate storytelling," said Azeem Afzal, CEO of LION. "This campaign is not just about AI. It is about proving that human ingenuity will always be at the centre of innovation."

AI is not a replacement for human creativity. It is a tool that, when directed with vision, can open new creative possibilities. This project reinforced that storytelling still requires human insight, emotional intelligence and creative direction. Technology alone cannot craft stories that resonate.

"Volvo’s return to the region deserved more than just another campaign. It needed a statement," said Hussein M. Dajani, Chief Marketing Officer, Petromin Corporation. "By harnessing AI, we have transformed the way stories are told, delivering a film that is both visually stunning and executed with remarkable agility. This is what the future of marketing looks like. A perfect balance between vision, technology and creativity."

Beyond storytelling, the campaign showed the financial and logistical advantages of AI driven content creation. Without traditional production expenses like location fees, travel, set construction and crew wages, Volvo and LION delivered a high impact campaign while significantly reducing costs.

This project proved that AI can help brands move faster, experiment more and rethink traditional production methods. But the essence of great storytelling remains unchanged. Human creativity is still at the heart of it all.

As Volvo made its return, storytelling evolved alongside it. AI changed the way the film was made. LION ensured it left an impact.

A Story by Creative LIAisons Alum - Mikaela Elkon,  Art Director at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg 

Being selected to the 2024 LIA Creative LIAisons Mentee Program to get coached by the very best of the industry was one of my biggest honours of 2024 .

I am so Grateful to LIA for selecting me and to TBWA\Hunt Lascaris for putting me forward and all thanks to my most successful campaign ‘Stronger,’ which won so many local and global awards in 2023 and 2024. It is my most proudest piece of work to date. 

I was so privileged to get coached by Tolga Buyukdoganay, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy Amsterdam; Josh Rabinowitz, Music Consultant at Brooklyn Music Experience and Damon Stapleton, Co-Founder / Chief Creative Officer at The Monkeys. I learnt something different from each coach.

Damon is an ex-South African, now living in New Zealand and former Group Executive Creative Director at TBWA\ Hunt Lascaris (before my time). He is a known legend and the person who did the "Zimbabwean," which was one of the most awarded campaigns to come out of Hunt Lascaris. When I heard he was going to be my coach I was extremely excited. Not only is Damon one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, he gave me skills on how to trust my gut and how to start becoming my own leader and not try to be one of my mentors, to truly become Mikaela Elkon. That advice left me with confidence when taking on new projects and presenting myself not only to clients, but to the industry.

Josh was the coach I chose who was a bit out of my field as he is in music, but that was the point, I wanted to learn something different. After doing ‘Stronger,’ which was a song that we made in honor of late rapper Riky Rick, who lost his battle to mental health, we used his words from his social media posts as lyrics and AI for his voice as an anthem for mental health. That project sparked me wanting to get into music a bit more. Josh and I discussed that in depth. I said to him, “I don’t have a music background so I don’t know how to chase music more,” his response; “Clive Davis was a lawyer and music is a universal language that has a space for anyone who wants to fight for it”. Josh introduced me into a whole new creative world and has put me in contact with people in the business whom I have created relationships with.

Tolga is probably the coach that has really become a full on life-long mentor and someone I really aspire to work with in the future. The first thing he asked me was 'what are your goals' and my response was to work abroad and he promised to make that our goal and that’s exactly what we are achieving to do together. Tolga is extremely supportive and follows all my achievements and gives me so much encouragement and applause. I have gotten the most growth by getting to have catch-ups with him every month and I am so grateful that he gives me the time. After all, he only signed on for three one-hour sessions!

Not only do I have these amazing coaches working at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, I am so blessed to have my boss Keith Manning, who is my ECD and who has taken me under his wing and teaches me something new everyday that I bring into my growth. We have one of the best working relationships. Thanks to our project ‘Stronger’ he treats me more as his creative partner than his junior and encouraged me to push the project and trusted me to lead it.

I also have to give thanks to Carl Willoughby, CCO at TBWA\ Hunt Lascaris, who challenged me the most to achieve what I have and without him I wouldn’t have had this amazing life changing opportunity of being a 2024 LIA Mentee.

Thank you LIA for giving me this opportunity, this really felt like a huge achievement in my career and I’m so proud to have been part of this.