In a twist worthy of any great pirate story, Volvo Car Corporation today upped anchor⎯at least temporarily⎯on the last crucial leg of its global online treasure hunt: the retrieval of a prize treasure chest filled with $50,000 in gold and a key to a new Volvo from the sea floor. The retrieval of the chest will hang in the balance until controversy dies down over the discovery of real life treasure by Volvo’s Hunt partner, Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Earlier this year, Volvo selected Odyssey, the world leader in deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, to sink a treasure chest with one goal: to create an authentic, exciting treasure hunt to promote Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.’ Veiled in secrecy, Odyssey scouted locations in the Western Mediterranean, finally zeroing in on a perfect spot off the coast of Gibraltar. They had planned to take the winner of The Hunt, 23-year-old Alena Zvereva from Ekaterinburg, Russia, out to retrieve the treasure from its secret location when the operation hit an unprecedented snag: Odyssey found real treasure. And a media storm ensued.

“We thought sinking a real treasure chest, filled with $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a new Volvo, and creating a global treasure hunt for 22 markets was challenging,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager, Volvo Cars of North America. “But that was, quite literally, a drop in the ocean compared to the storm our attempted retrieval process has stirred up.”

While thousands of would-be treasure hunters from around the globe battled it out to find Volvo’s prize booty, Odyssey struck gold and silver of their own in the Atlantic Ocean with the discovery of an estimated $500 million in coins from a deep ocean site the company has now code-named the ‘Black Swan.’
 
As soon as the discovery was made public, having been spotted depositing Volvo’s treasure in an entirely different area, questions started circulating as to the real provenance of the ‘Black Swan.’ Was it a Spanish shipwreck? Had Odyssey been working on shipwrecks in Spanish waters? Unable to reveal the exact location of the ‘Black Swan,’ in the Atlantic Ocean because of obvious security reasons, and under a non-disclosure agreement with Volvo to protect the location of its treasure chest, Odyssey found itself in the eye of a media storm that has yet to abate. Reports have been widely circulated that a court in the Spanish coastal town of La Linea has issued an order for the Spanish Guardia Civil to detain any Odyssey vessel should it leave the port of Gibraltar, putting Volvo’s retrieval plans on hold.

“When we discovered the ‘Black Swan,’ international interest in the find was amazing,” said Greg Stemm, real-life shipwreck explorer and co-founder of Odyssey. “Even though we have been very clear that it’s in the Atlantic Ocean, outside any country’s territorial waters, when Spanish authorities saw that we’d been out near Gibraltar in March, some unfortunately jumped to the wrong conclusion. Until very recently, we were contractually bound not to reveal our arrangement with Volvo, so without a real explanation of why we had deep-sea exploration equipment out there, it’s easy to see how imaginations could run wild.”

Whatever happens, Zvereva will receive $50,000 and a new Volvo XC70. Volvo, however, is not giving up on its retrieval plans yet and is committed to exploring every avenue possible to reclaim the chest from its watery depths.

“We wanted an adventure, and we certainly got one,” said Gangeri.  “Real-life shipwreck exploration is uncharted waters for us, and Odyssey did warn us that you never know what will happen out on the high seas. They have been an excellent partner throughout all this, and they helped make this contest one of the most authentic, exciting promotions of the year. Now, pirate story or not, we’re putting everything we have toward raising a thrilling⎯and happy⎯ending.”

Volvo To Hold Rematch After Finalists Fail to Solve Final Puzzle in Pirates of the Caribbean-Inspired Global Online Treasure Hunt

$50,000 in Gold Coins, Key to New Volvo Remain Unclaimed on the Ocean Floor, ‘Somewhere In the World;’ Rematch Scheduled for June 5

Volvo Car Corporation is declaring a ‘do over’ in its global online treasure hunt after all 21 finalists failed to solve the final puzzle within the given 24 hour time limit this weekend. The 21 would-be pirates from all over the world gathered at their respective computer screens Saturday for their ultimate chance at claiming the prizeæa trip to recover a treasure chest filled with $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a new Volvo from its watery depths ‘somewhere in the world.’ But it turned out that Volvo had all contestants ‘at sea’ with a final puzzle that proved too difficult for even the hardiest pirates.

“We really didn’t see this coming,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “Our Hunt has been tough from the beginning and we have been in awe of all the amazing puzzle-solving skills and sharp minds out there meeting us at every twist and turn. We really didn’t expect to baffle our finalists with the final puzzle. Who knew a car company could keep 21 pirates from claiming precious treasure? For now, at least.”

The wildly popular Hunt, a month-long multi-media campaign developed as part of Volvo’s sponsorship of the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, attracted more than 32,000 online contestants from 22 markets around the world. Participants solved a series of puzzles that led to a semi-final puzzle, Puzzle 21: World’s End, posted May 31. The first contestant from each country to submit the correct answer then went on to compete in the Final Leg. All participating markets were represented in the Final Leg with the exception of Italy, who didn’t have a participant submit a correct semi-final answer within the time limit.

The first of the 21 finalists to solve the ‘do over’ final puzzle Tuesday will be named the winner and receive a trip to the burial location to retrieve the chest filled with $50,000 in gold and a key to a new Volvo XC90. The finalists are:

- Andreas Aigner, Austria
- Konstantin Popov, Bulgaria
- Erin Chock, Canada
- Dennis Leifheit, Germany
- Cheuk Fung Leung, Hong Kong
- Andreas, Indonesia
- Yukio Takai, Japan
- Siew Hang Teh, Malaysia
- Patricia Gabriela Medrano Picon, Mexico
- Liss Johansen, Norway
- Aaron Joseph N. David, Philippines
- Jarosaw Nowakowski, Poland
- Ciprian Constantin Grosu, Romania
- Alena Zvereva, Russia
- Wilson Teo, Singapore
- Jungtae Ahn, South Korea
- Maria Qvick Faxa, Sweden
- Shih-En Chen, Taiwan
- Geranun Jiraboonyanon, Thailand
- Karyn Burgess, United Kingdom
- Deborah LaValley, United States

Forty-three-year-old Deborah LaValley from Juneau, Alaska, is ready for the challenge. LaValley, who participated in last year’s Hunt too, is thrilled with this year’s game. “I can’t stop thinking about different scenarios or possible locations. I really have no idea what to expect. I’m just excited that I get a second try at claiming the treasure.”

Once a winner has been declared, both final puzzles will be posted on The Hunt Web site for all participants to test their puzzle solving powers one last time.

One week of The Hunt remains. How are ye hunters doin'? I scrounged up another behind-the-scenes photo and kept me one good leg. Arrrgghhhh, the life of a pirate!

“Tattoo Man” Rises from the Dead to Give Volvo Treasure Hunters a Clue

You may not recognize this man, but to thousands of treasure hunters tired of staring at his semi-naked body, he’s standing in the way of $50,000 and a key to a new Volvo.

“Tattoo Man” holds the answer to puzzle number four in Volvo’s online treasure hunt at volvocars.us/thehunt, a promotion celebrating Disney’s new movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Or rather, the longitude and latitude coordinates to the next destination in The Hunt are right there in front of you, revealed in the tattoos covering his body. Simple, right? Wrong.

While  thousands of people have solved the puzzle using Thai and Chinese numerical systems – and even shared the solution on The Hunt’s unofficial blog – many other intrepid online hunters have been stumped, provoking blog comments like:

 “I have been looking at the tattooed man all night, my wife thinks I have a serious problem”

“Anyone want to help an eye tired person for the 1/2 naked man?  I'm ready to reach thru and make him all naked!”

“My eyeballs are about to pop out...I have never stared at a half naked man this long.”

So, Volvo is relenting, just this once, to give people a clue.

“We never promised this would be easy, there’s booty at stake after all,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager at Volvo Cars of North America. “Tattoo Man is just one in a series of 22 puzzles that expose people to different languages and cultures, taking them on a journey which so far has included Cuba, the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon and Singapore. But, maybe he is a little too tough for so early in the game. So, here’s a clue. The coordinates are spread out across the man’s body, from head to toe - right shoulder, chest, under his navel, left and right thighs and under his left knee. Use the other, complete number strings to translate them into a longitude-latitude combination such as 1234-5678…”

Got that?

Yo-ho-ho! Whilst sailing round the North Sea I traded my spare sword for a bit of insider information on Volvo’s Hunt. A lovely lass I swore on my one good leg I wouldn’t name, let me in on the action.
 
In this here photo a group of hearty pirates work diligently on the creating The Hunt puzzles. I was short on doubloons and couldn’t get any more than what you see here, but you seem to be getting along just fine in The Hunt so far.

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.