Volvo lets nature compose the soundtrack to its latest Sky Nature campaign by Grey London

Created by Grey London in collaboration with the Eden Project, the new Sky Nature campaign celebrates the fully electric Volvo EX60 featuring music created from living plants.

In a new campaign for Volvo Car UK, Grey London has found a rather unusual group of composers: the plants themselves.

Created to celebrate the launch of the fully electric Volvo EX60, Volvo Car UK’s new series of sixteen Sky Nature sponsorship idents features an original musical soundtrack made using data collected from living plants at Cornwall’s Eden Project.

Developed under the creative platform ‘Innovation is in our Nature’, the work explores the fascinating relationship between the natural world and human ingenuity, bringing together Volvo’s commitment to innovation with Sky Nature’s celebration of the natural world.

Using a technique called biosonification, the team turned data from living plants at the Eden Project into music. Small electrodes attached to the plants’ leaves measured subtle changes in electrical conductivity, caused in part by the movement of water and dissolved salts as the plants respond to light, temperature, and their environment. This data was then converted into MIDI signals, allowing the plants’ changing electrical activity to control musical notes and shape an original soundtrack.

The result is a series of beautifully crafted idents in which the plants appearing on screen have also helped create the music accompanying them.

It’s a simple but compelling demonstration of the campaign’s central idea: that nature and innovation aren’t opposing forces. In fact, some of the most interesting innovations begin with nature itself.

The collaboration also builds on Volvo’s longstanding relationship with the Eden Project, where the automotive brand is the Official Electric Car Partner.

Building on almost 14 years of partnership with Sky, the campaign demonstrates how Sky Media works with brands to take sponsorship beyond traditional channel sponsorship, creating distinctive opportunities to connect with audiences through creative storytelling and across Sky’s wider platforms.

Christopher Lapham & Aaron McGurk, Executive Creative Directors at Grey London, said:

“Innovation and Volvo go hand in hand, but to be able to be innovative with our advertising as well is a wonderful thing. Using nature and technology to create the music for our sponsorship of the Sky Nature channel is a brand not just saying it, but being it. And that’s music to our ears.”

Louise French, Marketing & PR Director at Volvo Car UK adds:

“Our partnership with Sky Nature is about more than creating visibility. It gives us an opportunity to tell stories that reflect what Volvo stands for. With these new idents, we wanted to create something genuinely distinctive, bringing together nature, technology and creativity in a way that feels both unexpected and completely authentic to our brand. Working with the Eden Project to allow nature itself to help shape the soundtrack is a wonderful expression of our belief that innovation and the natural world can inspire each other.”

Peter Jones, Director of Horticulture, acknowledged the wonder and scientific interest of Eden Project:

“Eden Project’s global garden in Cornwall are home to a remarkable collection of plants. Since we opened 25 years ago, our team of horticultural experts, students and apprentices have been cultivating, studying, and learning as we grow across our spectacular landscapes including our Rainforest Biome. With our strategic partner Volvo and their creative agency Grey we are delighted to be able to showcase the wonderous capabilities of plants, how they emit these beautiful sophisticated and purposeful sounds, exploring how deeply connected we are.”  

Karin Seymour, Client and Marketing Director for Sky Media shared:

“As we approach 14 years of sponsorship with Volvo & Sky Atlantic, and the second year on Sky Nature, we are delighted to celebrate the launch of Volvo’s latest creative on Sky. The ‘Innovation is in our Nature’ creative platform perfectly highlights the strength of their storytelling and resonates deeply with the channel’s premium content. We can’t wait to share the creative with our Nature fans and explore how else we can maximise impact across Sky, demonstrating how we continue to evolve this iconic partnership.”

Grey London led the collaboration between Volvo, Sky and the Eden Project, working alongside media buying agency Initiative.

The campaign follows Grey London’s successful Outernet activation for Volvo Car UK, further building on the agency’s longstanding creative partnership with the automotive brand.

The idents will run from early November, and throughout 2027, across Sky Nature, including SkyGo, Sky GoLinear and video on-demand.