The Hunt 2007

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.