Does this HarperCollins ad make you want to pick up a book and read?

Publishing house HarperCollins completes 25 years in India. A look at Taproot Dentsu's two-and-a-half-minute-long ad film that marks the occasion.

It is said, "Books open up a world of unimaginable possibilities," and celebrating books has always been a tradition at HarperCollins India. The leading publisher recently completed 25 years in India and for the first time ever, has launched an ad campaign to mark this milestone.

The ad campaign narrates the journey of a novel titled 'Journeys Never End' that exchanges hands through the film, thus celebrating books, and book reading.

The film opens with an old man holding the novel while travelling in a bus. When he alights at the next stop, he forgets the novel behind. A young man notices the book and picks it up to give it to him but it's too late by then. A young woman boards the same bus, and takes the seat adjacent to the young man. She notices the book in his hands. Seeing her interested in the book, the man hands it to her and gets off the bus as his stop comes. On opening the book she finds a message written on the first page 'If lost, please return to...' This gives the film an unexpected twist.

In the next shot the lady is seen seated alone, reading the book. She's tempted to call the number scribbled on the first page and eventually gives in. The elderly man who owned the book, answers the phone. The lady is surprised as the man on listening to her voice believes it's his love, Firoza calling him. During the course of the call it is revealed that Firoza is someone whom the elderly man lost in a plane crash. The film ends with the message, 'Stories create books. Books create stories', thus, making the viewer wonder 'who was Firoza?... did she actually die in the crash?... will the young man and woman ever meet again?...'

Conceptualised and created by Taproot Dentsu, the film has been directed by Srinivas Sunderrajan from AbsoluteProductions. The campaign was launched at the Jaipur Literature Festival that was held from January 19 - 23, 2017, and was released on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube on January 20.

Speaking about the campaign, Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India, says, "This is the first time we have used this medium to show our lifelong passion for storytelling - and I think it was a natural choice. It's aimed at the readership - celebrating books and storytelling. And we are targeting everyone, as we publish across categories for all age groups. The fact is, we all love stories, and have stories within us. It's not about filling a gap as much as motivating the viewer to go and pick up a book, any book!"

HarperCollins India is the first publisher to have its own YouTube channel and digital newsletter called Harper Broadcast, which showcases video content on a regular basis featuring author interviews and book trailers.

"When you are working on a product or brand, you have to really get into a different skin each time. That's what is exciting about this business. So when we were working on this campaign, it was a different trip. I've spent five years studying literature. All that came to me. And the fact that I was working on a brand that published Mark Twain was huge," says Titus Upputuru, creative head, Taproot Dentsu Gurgaon.

He adds, "While all kinds of books find an audience, fiction gets most traction. So, we thought if we are going to make a film on a brand that has been bringing the best of storytelling for almost 200 years now, it better be through a story. The response to this film at the Jaipur Literature Festival was overwhelming. So I guess people who loved books, loved the film. And that was our intent."

The film has been shot in Goa and the backdrop adds a certain mystical quality to it. The title of the book (Journeys Never End), the bus journey of the characters, and the soulful music, all add to the mysticism of the film. However, the film shows only the physical book and no e-book/e-reader. So afaqs! asked Padmanabhan, 'By not showing an electronic book, you might alienate a certain section of young and new readers - isn't that risky?' to which he replied, "The idea was to show the endearing power of stories and books - and use 'books' as a collective term, and be format agnostic. When the older character leaves behind a copy of the book, something we can't do when you read electronically, it opens the door for a whole new world of stories. I believe that everyone who sees this short film will warm up to the concept of how books create stories, and stories create books."

Memorable Piece of Work?

afaqs! asked the experts what they feel about the film.

According to Sridhar Ramanujam, founder CEO, Brand-Comm, Harper Collins is a publisher and they would like to cue books, stories and reading, and that is precisely what the commercial does.

"I don't think not showing the electronic or kindle version will make a major difference. There is enough research to suggest that a lot of readers, particularly older ones, tend to prefer the physical version of books, touch and feel rather than the electronic version, and it is a creative reminder of the habit of reading and of buying books," says Ramanujam.

"The Bernbach principle of great advertising is of 3 Ss - simplicity, surprise and smile. I would prefer the commercial to make me smile rather than disturb me. As far as this commercial is concerned, it is different. There's a young couple, and as you expect them to get to know each other, there is a twist to the tale. Also the concept of promoting books, stories and reading is laudable," he adds.

KS Chakravarthy, co-founder and chief creative officer, Tidal7 Brand and Digital, says, "If a die-hard reader like me who always swore by the pleasure of physically holding a book can switch totally and very happily to e-books, I really wonder who still buys books. Particularly since today's large phones have made e-readers irrelevant as well, literally letting you carry a hundred books in your pocket with no effort at all."

"The film has been shot competently, but something is obviously not working - maybe there was actually a story that got killed in the telling, or maybe it was a non-story to begin with. But just didn't get it."