VOLVO TO ROLL WITH LINSANITY
Knicks Jeremy Lin to team with Volvo

Some automotive pundits have said that Volvo can use a point guard. Evidently, the Scandinavian luxury car manufacturer has taken that advice to heart, as it announced the signing of NBA star Jeremy Shu-How Lin to a global endorsement contract. Volvo Car Corporation will be utilizing Lin’s star power for its markets in the United States, China, and the Chinese-language markets in Asia. Lin’s rise to stardom has been well-documented in the sports press. At Palo Alto High School, he served as team captain and lead his basketball team to the state championship. Having received no athletic scholarship offers, Lin settled for Harvard University, where the school guaranteed him a spot of the basketball team. At Harvard, Lin was unanimously selected for All-Ivy League First Team. After Harvard, Lin was undrafted, but was able to signed on with the Golden State Warriors, where he developed a loyal following of Bay Area fans. The Lin fans were so vociferous at Warriors home games that it disrupted the games at times. Lin was eventually waived by the Warriors. After being picked up and then waived by the Houston Rockets, Lin ended up on the bench of the New York Knickerbockers team. His long-term employment by the Knicks was so doubtful that he slept on other people’s couches—i.e., his brother’s mostly and teammate Landry Fields’ couch the night before his breakout. Lin was on the verge of being cut when he entered the court after Knicks star players Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire were unexpectantly out and others on the bench were not resulting in points on the board. Lin then took the Knicks to seven straight wins. He became the first NBA player ever to score at least 20 points and at least seven assists in each of his first five starts. The rest, as they say, is now history.

According to the cooperation agreement, over the next two years Jeremy Lin will participate in Volvo Car Corporation's corporate and marketing activities in his capacity as Volvo Car Corporation Brand Ambassador. He will also appear in Volvo Car Corporation advertising in these markets. "Volvo Car Corporation's choice of Jeremy Lin as the company ambassador derives from our shared ethos of passion, dynamism and progressiveness," said Freeman Shen, President of Volvo Cars China at the press conference. "This is a significant moment in the history of Volvo Car Corporation's brand rejuvenation, showcasing the new Volvo brand strategy Designed Around You with sportsmanship and intelligence. In this new era, Volvo Car Corporation has set a vision of being the world's most progressive and human luxury car brand, and we are determined to win the future. For our region, Jeremy Lin is the pride of the whole Chinese population, and we are excited to work with him." "We believe Jeremy Lin's character, intelligence, perseverance, and pursuit of excellence are perfectly in tune with Volvo car owners' characteristics of appreciating smart understated luxury with a human touch," added Richard Monturo, Vice President of Marketing, Volvo Car Corporation, elaborating on the brand associations. Jeremy Lin, the only NBA star with a Harvard degree, told the press conference, "It's a great honor for me to be appointed as Volvo Car Corporation Brand Ambassador today. You may not immediately see the connection between me and Volvo Car Corporation, but both of us are striving to be better and smarter at what we do, and to do it our own way. I hope that my efforts will inspire more young people to follow their ambitions in sports and education, just like Volvo Car Corporation is designing cars around people's ambitions in life." Since February 4th, Jeremy Lin has had the best-selling jersey in the NBA. On eBay, bids for Lin’s rookie card exceeded $21,000. Volvo is hoping that some of the Linsanity rubs off on its car sales. Although still considered a Swedish car company, Volvo is now owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company.