Audible Celebrates Power of Romance to Transform the Everyday
Audible, a leading creator and provider of audio storytelling, has launched a new campaign to celebrate the romance genre, and encourage existing fans and new audiences to discover the stories that the genre has to offer.
Created by Fold7, the campaign taps into a recent surge in popularity for the genre, the hero film was directed by Adam Berg through SMUGGLER.
The spot follows the tale of Airwyn, an elven princess duty bound to marry a king. Just as all hope seems lost, her long lost lover Ivaran bursts into the ceremony on horseback, inspiring Airwyn to break free and reclaim her true love. But just as they’re about to kiss, their entire world begins to spin, crumble, and collapse until it's revealed that all exists within the imagination of a listener sitting in a laundrette, deeply immersed in an Audible story.
Adam Berg is renowned for his immersive world building and intimate storytelling. This campaign required an epic set build: a 16ft rotating plinth, giant trampolines and stunt performers on wires performing aerial gymnastics. Voice artistry by Audible narrators offers an easter egg for fans of the genre.
Key visuals tap into other romance sub-cultures, such as regency and spicy romance, immersing listeners quite literally into these storytelling worlds. In one execution a character grabbing a late-night snack is transported into a sultry candlelit affair. In another, a woman picking up groceries watches as two Regency-era lovers kiss during a secret rendezvous on a lake. In a third, a morning jogger runs through an enchanted forest in the company of a mystery elf.
Shot by Charlotte Rutherford, whose known for her ethereal and dream-like visual style, making her the perfect photographer to bring these rich storytelling moments to life.
Key visuals will be adapted for print, digital and social, with motion formats using VFX to bring the intersection of the everyday with the richness of imagined worlds to life.
The global campaign begins its staggered rollout on August 4th, gradually expanding across the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, and Spain. The campaign will utilise TV, outdoor, print, digital, social, and radio, with additional assets and initiatives deploying in the weeks following the initial launch.
Dave Billing ECD at Fold7 said, “This latest work, we hope, continues to prove the fertility of this creative platform. There's always fun to be had when we collide the mundane with the richness of what's going on in listeners’ imaginations. With the romance genre, that's never been truer. This genre has it all - epic worlds, charismatic protagonists, passion, dragons. It's a long way from most people's everyday experience, but that's the joy of it. We wanted to honour this genre and its growing legions of passionate fans, and in Adam Berg we found a director with an impressive track record in world building, shot through with a brilliantly sharp sense of humour.”
