Highway Robbery

To launch the XC90 T8 hybrid, Volvo and the creative minds at Grey New York set out to do something far more ambitious than make another car commercial. They wanted to invent an entirely new way to generate power—and have a little fun at the competition's expense.

The XC90 T8 was one of Volvo's most powerful vehicles, thanks in part to its intelligent use of energy. So why not demonstrate that ingenuity by borrowing a little power from every other car on the road? The idea was beautifully audacious: Highway Robbery.

Working with Bob Partington, the team developed a remarkable peristaltic system that could capture energy from passing vehicles using nothing more than hydraulic pressure. A specially designed roadway mat contained a series of water-filled tubes that compressed as cars drove over them, pushing water through the system to generate hydraulic power, which was then converted into electricity.

After more than four months of engineering, experimentation, and fabrication, the team took over a stretch of California highway and put the invention to work, capturing energy from passing traffic to help power Volvo's new hybrid SUV.

And because no good robbery is complete without a little bravado, a roadside billboard thanked all the competing car brands for their generous contributions.

Creative partners: Bob Partington and Grey New York.

From Tree to Sea

When Decathlon and the creative minds at AMV BBDO set out to launch Yulex100, a new wetsuit made from natural rubber instead of traditional neoprene, they came up with a beautifully unconventional idea. Rather than simply advertising to surfers, why not take over something surfers were already watching every day?

Working with Bob Partington, teams positioned themselves in front of existing surf cameras in France and Portugal, using surfboards, paddles, umbrellas, driftwood, and whatever else they could find to create a series of playful, oversized messages. Each installation was captured through the cameras' existing live feeds, transforming an everyday surfing ritual into a clever piece of brand storytelling.

And here's where it gets especially interesting: Bob directed much of the action remotely from Los Angeles, coordinating performers, props, and timing through the very cameras the campaign was hijacking. No elaborate film set, no conventional camera crew shooting a traditional commercial—just an inventive idea, a lot of coordination, and the unpredictable world of live beach cameras.

The result was a campaign that felt perfectly at home in surf culture, using the environment itself to introduce a more environmentally conscious wetsuit. It's exactly the kind of unexpected, inventive thinking that makes Bob's approach to experiential storytelling so compelling.

Creative partners: Bob Partington, AMV BBDO, and OB42 / 42 Branded.

Awards: 2024 Cannes Lions: Bronze for Brand Experience & Activation

2024 - Best Outdoor — Winner - Best Ads on TV 

Melting Florida

When our friends at Zubi Advertising teamed up with The CLEO Institute to bring attention to Florida's growing climate crisis, they had an idea that was as simple as it was powerful: What if the things Floridians love most began disappearing right before their eyes? Rather than create another campaign telling people about rising temperatures, they wanted to make the consequences impossible to ignore.

Enter Bob Partington. Working with Zubi's creative team, Bob set out to create three larger-than-life wax sculptures representing the beaches, wildlife, and people of Florida. A lifeguard tower in Miami, a mother panther and her cub in Tampa, and a grandfather with his granddaughter in Orlando would slowly melt away, revealing a different warning about the future of the Sunshine State.

Of course, making something melt is easy. Making it melt at precisely the right temperature, over several days, without falling apart too soon? That's a very different challenge. Bob and his fabrication team spent months experimenting with molds, materials, pigments, and a specially developed wax formula designed to respond to Florida's extreme heat. The result was part sculpture, part science experiment, and entirely Bob.

Installed at the Frost Museum of Science in Miami, ZooTampa, and Orlando City Hall, the sculptures became living demonstrations of the problem they were created to highlight. As the Florida heat took its toll, each installation gradually revealed its message: “More Heat, Less Beaches,” “More Heat, Less Wildlife,” and “More Heat, Less Health.”

What began as three temporary public installations became a much larger conversation about climate change, attracting news coverage across the United States and around the world. It was a wonderful example of how an inventive idea, exceptional craftsmanship, and a little scientific experimentation can turn a serious issue into something people can actually see, experience, and remember.

Creative partners: The CLEO Institute, Zubi Advertising, Bob Partington

Awards: 2021 The One Show — Two Bronze Pencils: Out of Home / Brand Installations and Innovation in Design.

ADC Awards: Designism Cube