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Featured era: 2013
The Epic Split
“I've had my ups and downs.”
- Featured era
- 2013
- Peak era
- 2013-2014
- Company
- Forsman & Bodenfors / Volvo Trucks
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
Volvo Trucks' "The Epic Split" with Jean-Claude Van Damme
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- Volvo Trucks
- Added:
- November 13, 2013
- Length:
- 1:17
More Videos4 videos
What Was It?
The Epic Split is a 75-second commercial for Volvo Trucks, released on November 13, 2013, as the sixth film in its Live Tests campaign. It opens on a close-up of Jean-Claude Van Damme, who says, "I've had my ups and downs. My fair share of bumpy roads and heavy winds." The camera pulls back to show him standing on the wing mirrors of two trucks reversing side by side. As one truck drifts away, he sinks into a full split to Enya's "Only Time".
Made by the Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors and directed by Andreas Nilsson, it was shot in a single take at sunrise on the runway of the closed Ciudad Real airport in Spain. It was meant to show the stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering.
It spread fast, sent "Only Time" back into the Billboard chart and won the Film Grand Prix at Eurobest.
Things You Probably Forgot
- "A body crafted to perfection"
- Enya's "Only Time" back in the charts
- The sun slipping in and out behind the trucks
- Channing Tatum's food trolley parody
The Story
- 2013 Volvo Trucks released The Epic Split on November 13.
- 2014 It won Best in Show from The One Club and the Film Grand Prix at Eurobest.
- 2015 It won a Cannes Lions award for Creative Effectiveness.
Its Legacy
The ad is still on Volvo Trucks' YouTube channel. Its stunt inspired a wave of parodies, from Channing Tatum doing the splits between two food trolleys to a version for the video game Arma 3.
Memories
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