Powell’s Books' ‘Adapted by Anyone’ Invites Readers to Reimagine the Classics

Introducing Adapted By Anyone, the latest campaign for Powell’s Books— the world’s largest independent bookstore — created together with the community.

We’ve all seen countless movies made by others, but this campaign invites people to take part in the creative act of making a movie in their own minds. Because when you read a book, you’re the one who brings it to life—you dream up the cast, the set, and so much more.

The campaign has two aspects, content created by Powell’s Books and the community, and content created by you (the reader).

“At Powell’s Books, our purpose is to inspire people to read more and foster a culture of free thinking and independence. Books have the power to transport us to new worlds, and we hope this idea encourages people to share their own imagination of how a book could be adapted,” said Jeremy Solly, CMO of Powell’s Books. “When we read, we all imagine the story in our own way. There’s something truly special about bringing those stories to life in a way that feels unique to each reader.”

The hero campaign features videos and images based on six films: The Island of Dr. Moreau, Sherlock Holmes, The Count of Monte Cristo, War of the Worlds, Dracula, and Man in the Iron Mask , and will be running across cinema, newspapers, DOOH, pre-roll, and digital banners.

Additionally, literary enthusiasts everywhere, can go to powells.com/readyourmovie to put their name in the credits of the six classics and create their own shareable content.

"All of these classic movies began as books, books that we read and imagined stories for, and the most beautiful part is that how I imagined my story is different from how you imagined yours,” said Fernando Reis, VP, ECD at the community. “We hope to inspire more people to become readers by celebrating that when you read a book, you’re the one who brings it to life. And there’s no better partner than Powell’s, the world’s largest independent bookstore.”

Production for this campaign was led by PLURAL* Doers Hub.