Classic Odd Video: Skydiving Cats

A video which has circulated for several years shows a group of skydiving cats. Today we’ll take a closer look.

The video is not real.

Featuring the song “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly, the video was an advertisement created by the Swedish company Folksam Insurance. It features a group of skydiving cats which conclude the video by spelling out the name “Eva” in formation.

While most viewers who have seen the full-length commercial realize this was merely a video production, animated gif’s circulating online only show a small portion of the skydiving video, leading some readers to question whether or not the video is real. The cats were filmed with a green screen and superimposed onto skydiving scenes.

The commercial was created for a client-owner of Folksam Insurance named Eva Leijonmark. It was designed as part of an advertising campaign which sought advertising suggestions from customers as a way to show that the company is entirely customer-owned. The video ends with the text, “Visit folksam.se and tell us what makes your heart beat faster.”

Folksam stated the following about this video (translated):

“Note that we love cats and that this is trick-filmed. We have of course followed the Animal Welfare Act and not thrown out a few cuties from an airplane.”

A Huffington Post article about this ad erroneously referred to Folksom as a “pet insurance company.” Although Folksam does offer pet insurance, the company offers a wide selection of insurance options, including home, children, car, boat, etc. The skydiving cats video was even featured in a CNN segment, embedded above.

Sources

• In Sweden They Market Pet Insurance with Synchronized Skydiving Cats Set to R. Kelly (Gawker: November 13, 2012)
• Our Commercials (Swedish) (Folksam.se)

Updated August 13, 2015
Originally published August 2013