Droga5 campaign for Amazon Books celebrates books as the foundation of culture

Amazon Books in partnership with creative agency Droga5 London, is launching a new global campaign “That Reading Feeling Awaits”, which gives life to the invisible magic that happens inside our imaginations when we read – inspiring readers to read more and get more out of what they read.

The campaign is aimed at celebrating the place of books at the foundation of culture.

The global campaign will run in the US and UK from the end of July through to the holiday season in two bursts. It’ll be predominantly online video (60” / 30” / 5x 15”), supported by social, digital, OOH and a 3D special build at Penn Station.

The social and out-of-home assets pair simple photography of a reader behind their book with their illustrated thoughts jumping off the page. To bring the magic of reading to life, these assets feature the inner monologue of different readers responding to their books.

Over 20 different illustrators were briefed to give variety and distinction to the social and OOH assets. Each illustrator was briefed knowing just the book genre and their specific word or illustration to bring to life, leading to a rich combination of styles which mirrors the multifaceted and idiosyncratic nature of reading.

Droga5 London and Amazon Books have created a bespoke sticker pack and emojis to allow everyone to share their love of reading across social platforms. The stickers were co-created by a collective of talented artists, including Dan Woodger, Mat Voyce, Loulou Joao and YONK.

These will be promoted by leading influencers on BookTok; the ‘that reading feeling’ challenge encourages the public to post their favourite book, adorned with animated stickers that help bring to life the feeling.

The sticker pack and emojis are available through Amazon’s social channels.

Matt Hubbard, Droga5 creative director, said: “There’s a magic to reading that modern-day media like streaming or scrolling simply can’t replicate. An intimate relationship between reader and writer, books unlock myriad feelings from joy to sadness to having your mind blown and everything in between. In a world of fast content, diving into a good book has never felt so rewarding.”

Chris Chapman, head of design at Droga5 London, added: “Reading feels so special because it’s a co-production between a book and our imagination. We wanted to show what this feels like, that while reading looks passive from the outside, the feelings it creates in us are richly multi-layered. We worked with 17 different illustrators to create an eclectic treatment that combined vivid textures with the free-wheeling feel of user-generated content.”

Josh Fein, director of worldwide marketing at Amazon Books said: “I get to work with a team of passionate readers who want to inspire reading and help you find your next favourite book. That Reading Feeling Awaits is our call to crack open that hardcover or switch on your Kindle to feel the rewards of the immersive reading experience.”

Credits

Josh Fein – director of global marketing; Amazon Books

David Rosenberg – head of brand marketing; Amazon Books

Radnyee Pradhan – senior brand marketing manager; Amazon Books

Ben Creasey – senior brand and campaign manager; Amazon Books

Agency credits

OLV

CCO: Shelley Smoler

Creative director: Matt Hubbard

Creative: Chris Russell

Creative: Ahmed Ellabib

Head of design: Chris Chapman

Agency producer: Sophie Paton

Agency producer: Caroline Angell

Agency producer: Rob Steiner

Assistant producer: Olly West

Strategy director: Pete Heskett

Comms strategy director: Clemency Beale-Collins

Strategist: Sara Barqawi

Head of account management: Jen Knox

Senior account director: Tom Elias

Account director: Laura Kidd

Account manager: Heidi Brown

SOCIAL & OOH

Creative director: Matt Hubbard

Creative director: Chris Chapman

Senior designer/art director: Hannah Stewart

Senior designer/art director: Matteo Alabiso

Creative: Chris Russell

Creative: Ahmed Ellabib

Motion designer: Michael O’Brien

Motion designer: Rob Wicksteed

Studio director: Tim Larke

Art producer: Katerina Gharraph

Senior creative artworker: Paul Callaby

Artworker: Nik Coomber

Strategy director: Pete Heskett

Comms strategy director: Clemency Beale-Collins

Strategist: Sara Barqawi

Head of account management: Jen Knox

Senior account director: Tom Elias

Account director: Laura Kidd

Account manager: Heidi Brown

Production company credits

PRETTYBIRD

Director: Tom Noakes

EP: Juliette Larthe

HOP: Fiona Bamford-Phillips

EP: Ted Thornton

Producer: Cindy Burnay

New business: Shiara Miranda

Treatment creative direction: Tom Manaton

Stop motion/puppetry production: Benji Landman

Stop motion/puppetry production assistant: Lottie Lindsay-Beavan

Live action production assistant: Becca Stovold

VIRTUAL FILMS

MD/EP: Scott Horan

Senior producer: Joan Garcia

Producer: Dani Ojeda

PM: Dani Gonzalez

PC: Olga Airas

PA: Paula Comella

Production designer: Maria Puig

BLACK KITE STUDIOS

Colour: Thomas Mangham

VFX producer: Hannah Ruddleston

VFX supervisor 2D: Guillaume Weiss

VFX supervisor 3D: Fin Crowther

2D VFX team: Jonny Freeman, James Adamson, George Brunt, Andrew Curtis, Jack Stone, Venu Prasath

3D VFX team: Andrew Bartholomew, Pawel Luszczak, Marcel Ruegenberg, James Hansell, Tsvetelin Krastev

VFX on-set supervisors: Tito Fernandes and Jonny Freeman

POST SOUND & MUSIC: STRING & TINS

Sound design and mix: Joe Wilkinson, Culum Simpson, Lawerence Kendrick

Music composition: Ioana Selaru @ String & Tins

Audio producer: Olivia Endersby

FUTURE POWER STATION

Animation director: Yibi Hu

Lead animator: Daryl Graham

Animation producer: Janet Smith

Character design: Adam Relf

2D animation/clean up/FX: Krystian Piotr Garstkowiak, Alejandra Anguita, Daisy Evans, Husain Untoro, Hannah Privett

Designer: Qian Tian

PreVis: Kevin O’Shea

JIMMY GRIMES PUPPETRY

Puppeteer: Jimmy Grimes

Puppeteer: Andy Bruskill

1st assistant director: Laura Carrion Del Pozo

Runner: Flo Hoge

Director of photography: Chris Clarke

Focus puller: Steve Burgess

Gaffer: Bernie Prentice

Electrician: Gary Saunders

SFX/Prop standby: Nick Roberts

Art department assistant: Harrison Clark

VFX supervisor: Jonny Freeman

ISABEL GARRETT/STOPMO

Animation director: Isabel Garrett

DOP: Daniel Morgan

Gaffer: Evance Breteuil

Spark: Brendan Freedman

Character design: Nelly Michenaud

Puppets: Sculpt Double

Set build: Oliver Arnell Argles

Art department: Anita Bruvere, Rachael Olga Lloyd, Daisy Collingridge, Lisa Ott

Animators: David McShane, Anita Bruvere

Rigger: Robin Jackson

STUDIO AKA

Director: Marcus Armitage

Producer: Nikki Kefford-White

Production assistants: Lara Salam, Meera Nasheed

Editor: Nic Gill

Animation: Marcus Armitage, Darcy Woodbridge

Artworking: Marcus Armitage

SOCIAL & OOH ARTISTS

Anton Hjertstedt, Sam Lyon, Fantasista Utamaro, Joseph Mehuish, Alex Valentina, Thomas Burden

YONK

Mat Voyce, Patrick Savile, Nick Kempton, Jordan Harrison, Eva Munnich, Romain Braccini, Jae Yeon Kim, Loulou João, Studio Private, Dan Woodger, Electric Theatre Collective

SOCIAL & OOH POST-PRODUCTION

STUDIO PRIVATE

Creative post-production: Studio Private

CGI/VFX producer: Jeremy Djaffer

Lead 2D animator: Gabriel Thomas Ayache

CGI artists: Adrian Roger, Joanna Juszczak, Gabriel Thomas Ayache

STRING & TINS

Sound design: Jim Stewart

Producer: Olivia Endersby

NYC 3D SPECIAL BUILD

Creative director: Geoff Parsons

Animators: Ivan Brou, Rebecca Tzouliou, Simon Graham, Alice Roseberry-Haynes, Ollie Dook, Simon Kristall

Executive producer: Ben Honour

Producer: Sydney Levy