Which one would win the “books vs movies” battle? Of course, the answer might vary depending on who you ask but the general consensus is that books are better than films. While those who are limited by time would prefer watching a movie over reading a book for entertainment, bibliophiles will say otherwise and will even bring proof to back up their claim as to why books are superior to movies. The debate can stretch for pages but we can try and summarize this in a few words: Films don’t let us think outside the screen, limiting our imagination. Sure, they are visually stimulating but they are preventing us from picturing a novel’s characters, the settings, or the events.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean that movies are bad compared to their counterparts. In fact, writing the script of a movie (even though it is based on a book) requires as much work and creativity as that of the author who poured their heart into bringing their creation to life in the first place. While a book-to-movie adaptation is the result of the director’s, producer’s, and cast’s (among others) efforts, reading is “a co-production between a book and our imagination,” according to Droga5, the creative agency that stays behind Amazon Books’ campaign.
Titled “That Reading Feeling Awaits,” the initiative is aimed at encouraging people to read more and celebrate the place of books at the foundation of culture. Reading has been here for ages yet, in the digital age we live in and given that our mundane lives require us to be more focused on other things rather than reading, we tend to turn to other forms of entertainment. Sadly, this makes the habit of reading to be on a decline.
To show those who might have given up on relaxing with a book in their hands what they are missing on, Amazon Books walks them through different scenarios, where readers “high” on books experience the priceless and magical rewards they unlock with each page of the novel they currently read. Fueled by what we assume to be beautifully written lines, the readers’ thoughts come to life in a one-minute-long video, offering the audience a sneak peek into what happens inside a bibliophile’s mind. Directed by Tom Noakes via PRETTYBIRD, the spot is like an X-ray of a reader’s thoughts and how their thinking responds to creative stimuli, such as treating themselves to a great story.
“At Amazon Books, I have the remarkable privilege to lead and work with a team that is focused on a simple, yet important, challenge… how do we inspire people to want to read more? ‘That Reading Feeling Awaits’ is our latest endeavor to showcase the immersive and highly personal experiences that are uniquely brought to life through reading,” explained Josh Fein, Director of WW Marketing, Amazon Books & Kindle Content, via a LinkedIn post.
The campaign includes social and OOH assets putting simple illustrations of a reader immersing themselves in a captivating reading session together with their thoughts, which burst out of the book’s pages. To further strengthen the idea that reading feels like magic, each of the assets is accompanied by an inner monologue of different readers who react to the novels they are reading. Also, more than 20 illustrators were commissioned to lend their creativity to the project and breathe life into the social and OOH assets.
