As far as we know, 'Q', the gadget inventor from the James Bond movies, hasn't started working for Volvo, but the company has still turned out an invisible paint.
LifePaint is designed for cyclists to spray onto their clothing and bikes to keep them safe and visible on the streets at night.
The new paint is invisible in daylight, but glows under the glare of car headlights. It can be applied to almost any fabric - clothes, shoes, strollers, children's backpacks, even dog leashes and collars - and lasts about a week after application.
There are all manner of safety devices on the market for cyclists but most of them look pretty garish. LifePaint is likely to be a hit with bicyclists as they could spray it on their regular clothing or helmet, keeping them safe and visible, without looking like a construction worker in a fluorescent bib.
The paint was developed by Volvo's ad agency, Grey London, in conjunction with Swedish reflective spray startup Albedo100, which offers the reflective paint in four iterations, including one for applying to horses and dogs. This week in six London area bike stores, 2,000 cans of LifePaint are being handed out free. If the trial is successful, Volvo plans to release the product internationally.
The paint's Achilles' heel could be the weather, though. Although the paint lasted through a few showers during filming of the ad below, Ollie Dearn of Grey London admitted that since the paint completely disappears in the washing machine, "a proper, prolonged, heavy drenching would probably wash it off."
LifePaint is really a marketing play from Volvo to promote its reputation for safety, which has long been one of the primary selling points for the Swedish automaker. Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin developed the three-point seatbelt harness in 1959 and the company gave up its patent so the safety device could be used in all cars around the world.
The promotion is designed to highlight the Volvo XC90's safety features, in particular the SUV's Intellisafe safety technology, which includes a pedestrian and cyclist detection system. The technology uses a combination of radar sensors and cameras to identify other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists and automatically brake if the driver fails to take the necessary action.
"With the creation of LifePaint, we've turned Volvo safety inside out, giving it away to the most vulnerable road users," said Nils Leonard, chairman of Grey London. "What more positive action can a brand take than to try to save lives?"
Volvo pulled a similar stunt earlier this month with the release of "Swedish Air," a quirky bottling system for fresh Scandinavian air which was promoting the air-filtering systems in the new Volvo cars.
