The 2017 TV Ad I’ve Never Forgotten

I was recently chatting with a friend about the most memorable TV adverts of all time, and one immediately came to mind: a Volvo Cars advert from a few years ago.

It’s always stuck with me, probably because I’ve seen first-hand in my own family how devastating car accidents can be. But when I watched it again recently, I noticed something different.

In the advert, Volvo’s automatic braking system prevents a serious accident from ever happening. And this time, I couldn’t help but see it as a metaphor for health.

To me, that car represents living a healthy, physically active lifestyle over the long term. Staying strong as you age. Managing things like blood pressure, cholesterol, balance, and strength.

Volvo’s line in the advert is:
“Sometimes the moments that never happen, matter the most.”

In health terms, those moments that never happen might be:

• The heart attack or stroke that was avoided

• The fall that didn’t happen, and the complications that never followed

• The diagnosis that was delayed or never reached

Now, nothing is guaranteed. We all know people who lived very active, healthy lives and still became ill. And we also know people who did everything “wrong” and lived well into old age.

But in a life where so much is out of our control, this is one area where you can stack the odds in your favour, regardless of where you’re starting from.

Taking that control doesn’t just reduce risk. It improves how you feel, how you move, and how much independence you keep in the years ahead.

Living a healthy, active lifestyle doesn’t guarantee freedom from disease. But the alternative is increasing the chances of it.

And that’s a choice we all get to make.