Where in the world did Volvo sink its treasure? That’s today’s hottest mystery of the deep as tens of thousands of online treasure hunters across the globe vie to find a chest filled with $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a new Volvo XC90. To inspire, entertain – and possibly even distract – all would-be pirates on their quest for the treasure, Volvo Car Corporation offers up some other great watery mysteries from over the ages.

“Okay, okay. Maybe it is a stretch to call The Hunt one of the greatest mysteries of the deep, but it certainly has got a lot of people flummoxed,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “We thought some of our more prodigious participants might enjoy pitting their wit and skill against some age-old mysteries…but even if they solve them, the only way to get your hands on Volvo’s treasure is by joining our Hunt!”

• The Experiment in Suruga Bay – There’s something in the water in Japan’s Suruga Bay. In the past few years alone, there have been sightings of giant squid, giant eel and most recently, a prehistoric frill shark. The primordial soup that is Suruga Bay also has espoused certain legends that include a mythical sea monster akin to Loch Ness and the fictional sludge monster portrayed in 1971’s Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster.
• The Mary Celeste – The archetypal “ghost ship,” the Mary Celeste carried a crew of 10 and a cargo of industrial alcohol when it set sail in 1872. A month later, the ship was found drifting in the Mediterranean with no one aboard and nine barrels missing. While many theories have been introduced, none have yet been proven. However, one very important maxim comes to mind: “Don’t drink and drive.”
• The Bermuda Triangle – An imaginary area in the South Atlantic, “the Devil’s Triangle,” is infamous for the disappearance of ships and vessels. A persuasive (yet scientifically unproven) account of the phenomenon was made in the 1978 Scooby Doo episode “A Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle.” The age-old culprit behind the mystery? Ghost pirates, of course.
• The Sirens’ Song – In ancient Greek lore, the Sirens lured sailors to their doom from a craggy island perch with a haunting melody. Perhaps more mythology than mystery (it’s all Greek to us), was the music so distractingly beautiful or awful? 
• Waterworld – The 1995 post-apocalyptic epic is widely considered to be one of the greatest enigmas in film history. It remains a mystery of the cinematic age how and why such an expensive and convoluted film became an international box office success.
• The Blair Cuspids & The Sea of Tranquility – In 1966, the image of a rather unusual rock formation on the surface of the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility casting remarkably long shadows confounded scientists and continues to do so to this day.
• The Philadelphia Experiment – An alleged government-sponsored experiment said to have taken place in late 1943, The Philadelphia Experiment purportedly used electromagnetic radiation and gravity to make a naval ship temporarily disappear off the Atlantic coast.
• Billy Ocean’s “Mystery Lady” – This smooth classic cracked the R&B Top 10 back in 1985 and scores of Billy Ocean fans far and wide still wonder if the singer ever, in fact, managed to “get something started” with this unidentified temptress.
• The Great Face on the Pacific Ocean Floor – Some have argued that, when taken together, the topographical images of the vast ocean floor form the face of God. This supposition has met with resistance from similarly zealous believers who already are committed to the image of the Virgin Mary in a potato chip.

Have you visited your local Volvo retailer for a pirate chart yet? A skull and crossbones flag will mark the spot!

Avast, scallywags! Just days after launching its online treasure hunt to find a sunken chest containing $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a brand new Volvo XC90 “Somewhere in the World,” Volvo Car Corporation is leaking valuable clues for treasure hunters around the world.

"Three-quarters of the earth’s surface is under water, so finding a sunken treasure chest is not going to be easy,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “We want our hunt to be challenging, but we don’t want participants to become discouraged, so we thought we’d help narrow the playing field by revealing ten places where ‘X’ doesn’t mark the spot.”

1. The Dead Sea. We wanted to sink our treasure, not float it.

2. The Red Sea. Volvo’s brand colors are blue.

3. The Sea of Love. While we truly admire our treasure hunt participants, this sentiment may be a little strong. Besides, it’s a song.

4. The Sea of Tranquility. We wanted to make our hunt accessible to everyone, not just astronauts landing on the moon.

5. The Caspian Sea. It may be the world’s mightiest lake, but it’s no challenge for our sea-faring pirates. We needed a real high-seas adventure.

6. Off the Shores of Skeleton Island (a.k.a. Treasure Island). Way too obvious – we learned from last year’s Hunt that we have to keep our treasure hunters on their toes.

7. Bermuda Triangle. We wanted to make sure our treasure was difficult to find, not impossible.

8. Atlantis. It was a hot favorite, but we couldn’t find it.

9. Sea World. We already have enough sharks going after our treasure.

10. Watergate. Enough people went under.

Volvo Car Corporation’s Online Global Hunt for Sunken Treasure $50,000 in Gold and Key to New Volvo XC90 Launches May 4 at volvocars.com/thehunt

Volvo Car Corporation calls all pirates, rogues and scallywags to join The Hunt! It’s time to stop speculating and start searching as Volvo launches its worldwide hunt for real-life sunken treasure, May 4 at volvocars.com/thehunt.

Volvo literally has gone overboard in the second year of its promotion of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, and has sunk a chest filled with $50,000 worth of gold doubloons plus the key to a brand new Volvo XC90 to the ocean depths, “Somewhere in the World.” Anyone hardy enough to try and find it can take part in the online treasure hunt, which starts simultaneously in 22 markets, May 4 and ends with a global online ‘head to head’ June 2. 

To join The Hunt, participants 18 and older must visit a Volvo retailer to pick up a special pirate chart then register at volvocars.us/thehunt any time between May 4 and May 29. Winners will only be eligible if they can produce the original pirate chart upon conclusion of The Hunt.

Once registered online, hunters set sail on their virtual high seas adventure and move on, receiving clues, as they solve a series of challenging and fun online puzzles. People can join The Hunt at any time through May 29, and can catch up with other participants if they correctly answer the puzzles posted online. As the contest progresses, the puzzles will become increasingly harder to solve. On June 2, the first person from each of the 22 participating markets to finish the online hunt will compete against one another in one final exciting online challenge.

The first of those 22 individuals to solve the final puzzle will be named the winner and will receive a trip to the burial location to retrieve the chest filled with $50,000 in pirate gold and a key to a new Volvo XC90.

“Last summer, we held a treasure hunt to find a buried Volvo XC90 V8 to tie in with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and were blown away by the success – more than 100,000 participants from around the world joined in,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “This year, with more countries, more booty and all the early interest, we’re really excited to ‘set sail.’ So, come join The Hunt!”
 
In addition to the United States, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom are participating in The Hunt.

VOLVO REVEALS LOCATION OF THIS YEAR'S BURIED TREASURE:
THE BOTTOM OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Volvo Car Corporation Sinks Treasure Chest Filled with $50,000 in Gold and Key to New XC90 “Somewhere in the World” and Gets Ready to Launch Online Treasure Hunt, May 4

Ahoy, raise the main sail, mateys! “Somewhere in the World,” Volvo Car Corporation has sunk real-life treasure chest filled with $50,000s worth of gold doubloons plus a key to a brand new Volvo XC90 and will soon be taking would-be pirates on a virtual high seas adventure to find it. Volvo’s online treasure hunt, inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, starts May 4 simultaneously in 22 countries.

Last summer, Volvo embarked on its official partnership with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise by launching a global online treasure hunt for a buried Volvo XC90 V8. The hunt, like the movie, was a huge success and drew more than 100,000 participants from around the world. This year, with more countries participating and even more booty at stake, Volvo’s hunt promises to be bigger and better, with more than 6,000 treasure hunters already pre-registered.

“We had such a great response to the hunt last year that we really did feel the pressure to come up with something equally cool and attention grabbing this year,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “So, yes, we really did sink a treasure chest to the ocean floor filled with gold and the key to a new Volvo. It’s sitting there right now just waiting to be found.”

Volvo will release more details about the hunt May 3. All pirates, swashbucklers and scallywags are invited to register now at http://volvocars.us/thehuntsignup.html.

Arrrgghhhh! I can smell treasure. Looks like we're getting closer to discovering what Volvo has in store for us hearty pirates. Check out this photo I dug up. It can't be long now, mateys!

Okay, okay. Point taken, land LUBBERS. Now, moving on. Harking back to last year, are you? Well, look what I found. Feast your eyes on this fancy piece of video. Last year's winner had some nifty moves!

You’re back! So, that must mean you think you’re up for a challenge? Gather round the deck and listen up! Volvo’s got some new treasure and it’s up for grabs. There are rumblings of a treasure hunt coming, sure to challenge even the toughest buccaneers around. You can bet all the rum on the ship that this hunt isn’t for the lily-livered (that’s faint of heart to you land lovers). If you had the good fortune (and what pirate doesn’t?) to play in last year’s hunt, you must be scratching your head thinking, “Surely Volvo can’t make the hunt and treasure any better than last year.” Well, you’re dead wrong, me hearty. The treasure this year will shock even the toughest swashbucklers out there. Start sharpening your wit, dust off your olde compass and keep your eyes peeled. You don’t want to miss this one! One more thing before I go raise my pirate flag, check out www.disney.com. Looks like my old acquaintances Captain Jack Sparrow and “Bootstrap Bill” Turner might have heard the Volvo hunt rumor too…

Wake up land lovers! It’s time to do away with your rum, put down your scrabble pieces and look alive. I have some mighty big news to share with all you rogues and scallywags out there looking for a new high seas adventure. I’m looking for a hearty crew of swashbucklers fit for the task. And what is that task? Meet me back here in the morning and find out.