Dolph Lundgren, you're no Jean Claude van Damme

Here's some things that are best consigned to the dustbin of history: 1980s action movie star Dolph Lundgren's acting, and the 1989 dance track "Pump up the Jam" by Belgian music group Technotronic.

Yet here they both are, in a video for Volvo Construction Equipment by Forsman & Bodenfors. 

Ad Nut's generally been a fan of the agency's work for Volvo, and of course Jean Claude van Damme's epic splits video is a legend. This offering has the same basic elements—a 1980s action star and some large, expensive machines doing some truly impressive things.

But instead of letting the action star do something impressive, something that complements the product benefits the ad is highlighting, we get Lundgren squinting, spouting one-liners, and lip-syncing to "Pump up the Jam". Rather than a slow reveal of something extraordinary, we get a poor and predictable knockoff of a bad boot-camp movie, albeit one with a drill sergeant who likes to shimmy his hips to electronic beats and slap a riding crop (!) in his hands.  

Lundgren may be a perfectly nice guy, and apparently isn't the meaty idiot he's perceived to be—the internets report that he holds degrees in chemical engineering and won a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT before his acting career took off. But let's just say he was never known for his acting prowess or comedic timing. So the whole thing falls flat. It's not funny, or surprising, and Ad Nut could barely endure the whole 90 seconds.

Ad Nut only shares it with you in an effort to avoid suffering alone. Cheers!

CREDITS

Client: Volvo Construction Equipment
Advertisers Supervisor: Per Åkerlund
Advertisers Supervisor Titel: Manager Communication Projects, Brand & Market Communication
Creative Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Account Supervisor: Cilla Pegelow
Account Manager: Helena Lignell
Art Director: Lars Elfman
Copywriter: Martin Ringqvist
Designer: Christopher Ek
Creative assistant: Milly Björkman
Planner: Daniel Sjöstrand
PR Strategist: Bjarne Darwall
Platform and data strategist: Peter Gaudiano
Agency Producer, Fi lm: Åsa Hammar
Music Supervisor: Johan Nordqvist
Production company: The Producers
Postproduction/VFX: Swiss
Director: Tompa & Rondo
Producer: Mats Wolgers
Line producer: Ronald Meier
D.O.P: Eric Gautier
Editor: Gustav Öström/Talent Group
Sound design: Fredrik Sundberg/Plop
Makeup artist: Madeleine Gaterud
Styl ist: Denise Östholm
Music: Pump up the jam by Technotronic
Talent: Dolph Lundgren appears courtesy of Karmax-910 sas
Media agency: Oath
PR agency: SE10
Behind the scenes production: Othervise
Music Production BTS: EARON Studio
Stills photographer: Jon Hertov

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.