Three U.S. Finalists and Four International Finalists Will Convene on August 6 at Secret Location for On-the-Ground Race to Uncover Buried Volvo SUV

Look what the tide’s washed in, maties! Volvo Car Corporation today announced the seven international finalists in its global, multi-media treasure hunt for a pirate-themed Volvo XC90 V8 that has been buried somewhere in the world. The seven wanna-be pirates, including two women and five men, were the first among their respective nations to complete a fun, yet challenging online treasure hunt Volvo launched on June 12 and concluding four weeks later.

Hailing from such locales as Newnan, Georgia and Trieben, Austria, the finalists –– three Americans and one each from Japan, United Kingdom, Spain and Austria –– will be flown to an undisclosed location on August 6.   Once there, they will compete in a historic race, frantically deciphering clues that will lead them closer exact location of the buried Volvo. The first to dig it up keeps it.

The wildly popular hunt, a multi-media campaign developed as a part of Volvo’s sponsorship of the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest, has elicited participation from more than 52,000 online contestants in the U.S. alone.  The finalists are:

- Jenny Buckalew, 35, Newnan, Ga.
- David Hutz, 30, Herndon, Va.
- James Hutz, 57, Carefree, Ariz.
- Karl Lloyd, 33, Surrey, England
- Susanne Kalintsch, 44, Trieben, Austria
- Akihiro Horibe, 36, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- Jose Luis Dmoniguez Monge, 31, Valladolid, Spain

The format for the final leg of the competition will be reminiscent of reality TV shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race, with contestants participating in a series of mental and physical challenges over two days that will either eliminate them from the competition or advance them closer to the buried vehicle. The victor and results of final hunt will be released to the public on August 11, followed by a series of Webisodes documenting the hunt premiering online at www.volvocars.us/thehunt on August 24.

“This already is one of the more unique film promotional tie-ins conducted by an auto manufacturer,” said Anne Bélec, president and chief executive officer of Volvo Cars of North America. “We had participants blogging, sharing clues, writing online poems and becoming deeply engaged in the process.  We had more than 52,000 participants in the U.S. alone, each of which had to come into a Volvo retailer to pick up a treasure map to begin play, with 25 percent of them opting in for more information about Volvo cars while they played.  It’s been a wildly entertaining campaign and we’re looking   forward to seeing who actually finds the Volvo we buried.”