I’ve seen that video before, though, and I think it’s one of the better book trailers I’ve seen. It could easily be cut to thirty seconds and used as a tv spot, too.

I think part of the problem of advertising books to people at movies is that, well, they’re at the movies, and being a theater with enough speaker power to shudder the building is a far cry from sitting at home on a chair in the quiet, reading a book. Which is not to say it can’t be done, just that the fact that you have a bunch of people in one place does not necessarily mean it’s a good place to advertise a book. I don’t think most people at the movies will make the connection that a book will keep them entertained for hours (a book? what’s that?), because the mindset is so different. That said, if we’re talking about a video advertisement (like the video you linked to), you’ve got a better chance, because it plays on a lot of the kind of sensational things that happen in the book rather than the page-by-page narrative and writing. You’ve got a cop car, craziness, financial ruin, and a dead-looking body all in 30 seconds. So I think this emphasizes that you don’t want to go up to a crowd and say, “Hey, this is a book! It’s good! Read it!” because people will be like, “Books are boring!”

But if you get their attention first (and you may have to placate to the taste of the masses a little, unfortunately) and then tell them you’re talking about a book, you’ve then established the train of thought in their heads that goes, “Hey, that’s interesting. Hey, that’s a book. Hey, an interesting book; that’s a good idea.” Instead of “Hey, that’s a book. Wait, I don’t like books because they’re boring. I’m not going to listen to whatever else this person is saying.”

I’m not sure if I made a point anywhere. Probably not. I like the idea of advertising to people when you’ve got their attention, but you have to do it in the right order, I think.

I wonder if this is the advertisement you saw, Marcus. I actually think places like the Garland Theater are the best places to advertise books. You’ve got a captive audience who are obviously into being entertained, so why not show them an awesome book that will keep them away from boredom for many, many hours? Plus, this is a cool little video. It made me even more interested in the book than I already am. Damn advertising!

The problem, I think, is that literature doesn’t easily translate to visual media. I’m not sure how you’d create a 30-second spot out of a 200-page book. I guess you wouldn’t have to necessarily use the book’s content (that is, act out a scene). Asa, do you know if the Patterson/Roberts ads are online anywhere? I’d be interested in seeing those.

I do think that the kind of motion poems Amanda talked about a while ago are incredibly interesting. If I saw the “The God of our farm had blades” video on television during a commercial break of a basketball game, I’d be blown away because A)it’s very, very different from most advertising, and would attract my attention, and B)it’s freakin’ fantastic. If nothing else, you’d get a couple thousand website hits, and that’s never bad. Of course, the real issue is what kind of publisher has that kind of advertising budget? Television advertising is wicked expensive, especially when you’re talking about a national program and not a local PBS affiliate. But I’d like to see it done once.

As for the value argument of a book against a movie, I don’t think there’s any question that most people who like to read will agree that it’s cheaper for the entertainment value than film, but those aren’t the people you need to reach.

I’d like to work with what Asa’s talking about, except expand it so you’re not just having writers read at readings. I like the idea of at a concert or theater, but also during inter-quarter breaks at ball games, on escalators in the mall, or showing motion poems during television programs, etc. Places you would not expect to find literature, you know? Writers sort of live in a self-imposed exile from everyday life, and when one is brave enough to step out of the shadows, we always think it’s interesting/innovative. Also terrifying, and absolutely necessary.

So, people, where would you not expect to hear someone read a poem or have a book advert? Preferably places that would also attract attention.