A new global campaign from Amazon Books aims to capture the attention of the "BookTok" generation, focusing on the feelings that they experience while reading as their imagination takes them to new worlds.

The work, by Droga5 London, includes a film helmed by Tom Noakes of Prettybird that depicts the unique relationship each reader has with the book they’re engrossed in.

The push comes as Amazon is looking to get younger readers excited about books again and, with its digital and social-first strategy, it aims to capture their attention in the places they might be streaming and strolling.

The main film's five different vignettes depict books coming to life around the readers enjoying them—whether they're on the subway, in a launderette or at home. They employ mixed-media styles including puppetry, stop motion animation, anime and blockbuster-style VFX, achieved with the help of five different post houses (Black Kite Studios, Jimmy Grimes Puppetry, Isabel Garrett/StopMo, Studio AKA and Future Power Station). The companies' craft imparts a distinctive flavor to each scene, and you can see more about the techniques in the behind-the-scenes video below.

Creating outdoor and social, which pairs simple photography of a reader behind their book with their illustrated thoughts jumping off the page, involved a similar strategy. Droga5 commissioned 20 different illustrators, with each briefed knowing only the book genre and a specific word or illustration to bring their own illustration to life.

Additionally, Droga5 London and Amazon Books have created a bespoke sticker pack and emojis to allow people to share their love of reading across social platforms.

The stickers were co-created by a collective of artists including Dan Woodger, Mat Voyce, Loulou Joao and Yonk. They will be promoted by leading influencers on BookTok, in a challenge branded "that reading feeling" that will encourage people to post their favorite book, adorned with the animated stickers that help bring to life the feeling. The sticker pack and emojis are available through Amazon’s social channels.

The global campaign will run in the U.S. and U.K. from the end of July through to the holiday season in two bursts. It will include online videos supported by social, digital, out-of-home and a 3D installation at New York's Penn Station.

 

"Books are no less entertaining or rewarding than other forms of media," said Matt Hubbard, creative director at Droga5 London, in a statement. "But what makes them so great is also what presented the biggest creative challenge—the magic of books is largely invisible. Once we decided to unlock that invisible world, we were able to showcase the myriad feelings, emotions and imaginations that had been awaiting us all along."