Buzzword branding
Bus Words by Västtrafik and Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden

Buzzword branding

Sweden – A campaign by public transport company Västtrafik uses automotive advertising clichés to examine the future of mobility.

Article/21105 #1
Bus Words by Västtrafik and Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden

Sweden – A campaign by public transport company Västtrafik uses automotive advertising clichés to examine the future of mobility.

  • The campaign aims to encourage more car users to use public transport
  • The ad uses buzzwords typically associated with the car industry to describe a regular city bus

Bus Words appears at first to be a typical car ad complete with futuristic imagery, dramatic music and industry buzzwords such as ‘electrified’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘vehicle sharing’. However, in a comical twist, the vehicle being described is revealed to be a regular city bus.

The campaign was developed by Gothenburg-based agency Forsman & Bodenfors in response to the rise of the self-driving car market and the trend among automotive brands to claim to offer the future of mobility. It playfully highlights the similarities between the lauded innovations of modern car-makers and the features of a regular city bus, which has been in use for more than 100 years.

‘The car industry is going crazy about the future right now, but almost all of the industry buzzwords apply perfectly to a regular city bus,’ Pontus Caresten, copywriter at Forsman & Bodenfors, told LS:N Global. ‘More people alone in their cars is not what our cities need. They need more people riding together on public transport.’

The Big Picture

Brands such as Västtrafik and Coop are highlighting the viability of long-standing business models to challenge the marketing hyperbole of future-facing campaigns.

Discover More News
Future Château launches mid-strength wines at Selfridges

News

Future Château launches mid-strength wines at Selfridges

Future Château, the new wine brand from author Tom Benn, is launching at Selfridges in October 2025 with a debut range of premium 5% ABV wines desi...
Drinks : Retail : Food
OpenArea reframes nature as cultural canvas with new London festival

News

OpenArea reframes nature as cultural canvas with new London festival

OpenArea, the brainchild of cultural strategist Ollie Olanipekun, transformed Camley Street Nature Reserve in King’s Cross into a vibrant hub of ar...
Nature : Food : Design
Stat: Americans push back against tipflation

News

Stat: Americans push back against tipflation

Tipping fatigue is intensifying across the US, with 65% of consumers saying they are tired of tipping – up from 53% in 2023, according to Popmenu’s...
Retail : US Market : Hospitality
Lancôme opens luxury retreat space and cafe in Doha airport

News

Lancôme opens luxury retreat space and cafe in Doha airport

Lancôme has unveiled Café de la Rose inside Doha’s Hamad International Airport, its first travel retail café and only the second globally.
Retail : Beauty : Travel
Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, ...
Foresight Friday : Fashion : Beauty
Stat: Americans turn to travel to connect with loved ones

News

Stat: Americans turn to travel to connect with loved ones

A new survey from Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection reveals Americans are craving more meaningful time with loved ones, and travel is emerging as a key ...
Travel : Statistic : Optimised Odysseys
Toyota opens Woven City as a living lab for future lifestyles

News

Toyota opens Woven City as a living lab for future lifestyles

Toyota has opened its experimental Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji, creating a testbed where residents live alongside prototypes of emerging t...
Technology : Design : Toyota
Stella McCartney launches luxury live-stream shopping platform

News

Stella McCartney launches luxury live-stream shopping platform

Stella McCartney has introduced Shop With Stella, an interactive shopping event co-hosted by actor Eva Mendes and powered by Swedish video commerce...
Retail : Luxury : Livestream
Stat: The fashion industry’s hottest climate risk is factory workers’ health

News

Stat: The fashion industry’s hottest climate risk is factory workers’ health

A September 2025 report by the Fashion Revolution movement reveals that the fashion industry is failing to measure dangerous factory temperatures, ...
Fashion : Sustainability : Stat
Claude’s Keep Thinking campaign positions AI agent as problem-solving tool

News

Claude’s Keep Thinking campaign positions AI agent as problem-solving tool

In a new campaign entitled Keep Thinking, AI agent Claude is framed as the go-to tool for problem-solvers.
AI : Co-creation : Campaign
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN