Behind Subodh Kerkar’s ‘Most Ignored Painting’ Collaboration with Volvo
With millions of views, influencer shares, and a mission to save lives, Volvo Cars India’s collaboration with internationally renowned artist Subodh Kerkar became an eye-opening moment for many across the world.
Released during India’s National Road Safety Month, the campaign launched with a teaser reel from the artist, admitting that his latest creation was being surprisingly ignored. The intrigue stirred questions from audiences and the media, who would find out what this painting was at a special event.
Attended by press, art enthusiasts and key stakeholders in road safety, the event revealed that the painting was part of a social experiment that captured how Indian drivers were putting pedestrians' lives at risk every day. Turning the road into his canvas, the artist hand-painted a zebra crossing and signed it, which was then seen disregarded time and time again on camera as vehicles sped over it, ignoring both the road safety markings and the people attempting to cross.
“Art has the power to move people and create meaningful change,” Subodh told LBB. “I believe this idea can serve as an example of how art can be used to address crucial societal issues. This project should inspire a greater sense of responsibility towards pedestrians.”
Volvo Car India's MD, Jyoti Malhotra, added, "At Volvo, safety has always been at the core of our values. It's not just about building cars; it's about building a culture of care and responsibility. Through this collaboration with Subodh Kerkar, we hope to make people pause, reflect, and take action to prioritise road safety."
To dive into the campaign, Grey India’s MD and chief creative officer for South Asia, Sandipan Bhattacharyya, speaks to LBB’s Sunna Coleman to reveal how the collaboration came together and how they built hype for the campaign to go viral.
LBB> How did the idea for working with internationally renowned artist Subodh Kerkar on a hand-painted zebra crossing come about?
Sandipan> Subhodh Kerkar has always had an experimental approach to his art and is passionate about his work effecting change. He passionately believes that artists are sensors and receptors of ideas in a society. We’ve always admired his work and when we came up with this idea, we thought he was the perfect fit, from an idea as well as a brand lens. He truly resonated with Volvo's core culture of care and responsibility.
LBB> What was he like to collaborate with? What was the creative process like together?
Sandipan> The process started with sharing the core idea of the social experiment with him, and the cleverly concealed objective of pedestrian safety within it. He was instantly in love with the thought and our creative team – Pratyasha Patgiri, Vedika Bhargava and Mangesh Kavale – started jamming with him on the possibilities.
The entire flow of the campaign was jointly arrived at as we wanted the first phase of the teaser to look authentic and trigger genuine surprise at a successful artist announcing an ignored masterpiece. Our team worked closely with him to finalise every detail from the actual act of secretly painting a zebra crossing, to the teaser reel, the reveal at the gallery, and the social amplification. Subodh’s input was amazing and he went out of his way to make every part of it meaningful.
LBB> Why did you decide to release this campaign in two parts, starting with a teaser?
Sandipan> We wanted the voice of the artist to come through with stark authenticity – something that triggered curiosity and not in a prompted way. That’s the reason we started the campaign with a reel from Subodh Kerkar’s Instagram account, without any mention of the brand behind this collaboration. The reel directed people to the reveal event at the gallery, and the counterintuitive nature of his reel worked brilliantly to get art aficionados, influencers and the press to organically attend this event.
The reel went viral. It was at this event that the artist let out the secret behind this ‘Most Ignored Painting’ and shifted focus to the pressing issue of pedestrian safety in India and how the zebra-crossing, a humble painting on the streets, is actually one of the most ignored works of art.
LBB> What was the reaction to the teaser and the impact it had?
Sandipan> We wanted to build the hype of the reveal because, for a social experiment to be successful, you have to get people’s attention and arouse their curiosity. For this one, we wanted people to wonder why this revered artist’s painting is being ignored; what is this artwork? The teaser created a huge buzz, getting people talking and even guessing, but that was the buildup and the first part. The reveal itself needed to be something that most people couldn’t imagine, but made sense once they knew what the ‘Most Ignored Painting’ was. It couldn’t be a letdown! I like that it all came together to represent the brand and what it is admired for – safety.
LBB> What was the reaction at the event where the ‘Most Ignored Painting’ was revealed?
Sandipan> Genuine surprise and reflection, which happens when an idea affects you deeply. It was amazing to see the attendees actually joining the dots – making the connection between an ignored painting and the fact that a pedestrian crossing is actually a painting on the streets! It’s like finally putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and seeing the larger message in it.
LBB> What were some of the creative and strategic challenges you needed to overcome during this project?
Sandipan> We wanted the reveal to be genuinely unexpected, and the biggest challenge was to launch the campaign in an absolutely authentic way. An artist’s voice is the calm, unbiased voice of reason in all the social media clutter that surrounds us – that’s what makes it so compelling. So, arriving at this strategic collab was an important decision. A message like this can only trigger change when it is received with unadulterated surprise, because that’s what makes us pause and reflect on something we overlook every day.
LBB> How do you envision this campaign influencing broader cultural conversations around road safety?
Sandipan> I think it opens up the conversation on a very important aspect of road safety, which is the safety of pedestrians. The statistics of casualties in India are still alarming and Volvo is always passionate about the safety of individuals, both inside and outside its cars. As a brand, it believes it’s our shared responsibility to drive this change, and we’re seeing how a simple idea like this can trigger a new realisation among opinion leaders and influencers.
