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.
On May 4th, tens of thousands of would-be pirates joined The Hunt, part of Volvo's promotion with Disney's new film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and set sail on a virtual high seas adventure, solving a series of online clues and puzzles that will eventually lead to the treasure.
“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.
There's still time to join The Hunt! Participants 18 and older must visit a Volvo retailer to pick up a special pirate chart then register at volvocars.com/thehunt any time between May 4 and May 29. The first person from each of the participating markets to finish the online hunt will compete against one another in one final exciting online challenge June 2. 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.
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.
