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  • Volvo’s Saudi ad is AI-generated, with no cars shown and focus shifting to messaging.
  • AI reduced production time from months to weeks, making the process more efficient.
  • The ad uses a voiceover to connect its human-focused narrative to Volvo’s Saudi return.

In the ever-evolving world of advertising, where companies are constantly trying to outdo each other with the next big thing, Volvo has thrown a curveball in Saudi Arabia for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn’t actually feature a Volvo—or a car of any kind. Before anyone jumps to conclusions and assumes this is a rehash of what Jaguar recently did, hear this: the entire ad is a creation of artificial intelligence. It might even offer a glimpse into what we can expect from future brand campaigns.

Titled “Come Back Stronger,” the video ad is a surreal mix of vague, almost abstract clips. There are close-up shots of people, individuals running in the desert, and other scenes that seem completely unrelated to anything Volvo specifically does. What does tie it all together is the voiceover, which, to be fair, sounds like a car commercial—even if the visuals don’t match.

Read: Even Jaguar’s Designers Weren’t Convinced By Controversial Rebranding, Leaked Letter Claims

Here’s the script:

“They say some dreams are too ambitious but we’ve never believed in limits. Challenges didn’t hold us back, they pushed us forward. Every obstacle, every doubt, shaped us into something stronger because progress isn’t about the past, it’s about what’s possible. And what’s possible is everything. This isn’t just a return, it’s a comeback, and together, we vow to always come back stronger.”

So, what does all that mean when it comes to practical application? Volvo is hoping to sell more cars in Saudi Arabia with its new electrified lineup. That’s the long and the short of the entire ad campaign. Once again, Volvo greenlit this with zero cars in the video.

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It’s unclear whether Volvo intentionally chose to leave cars out or if it simply had too much trouble getting the AI to generate a truly accurate Volvo model. According to Adweek, Osama Saddiq, the founder of Lion—the agency behind the ad—said, “This was a tough decision… to tell a deeply human story through the voices of Saudi locals… showing the car would have distracted from the narrative.”

Regardless of intention or execution, it’s clear that AI could soon become a powerful tool in the automotive world. Even Mercedes’ head of design has warned that AI might make designers obsolete within the next decade.

Behind-the-scenes storyboards from Lion show just how the company did the work. In addition, it said that by using AI it cut production time from months down to weeks. For many brands, that alone could be enough of an incentive to start experimenting with AI more frequently in the near future.