Reel Page Turner Transforms Books into Animated Trailers

Last Cannes, BBDO launched a global creative sprint with Meta to make more innovative use of Reels ads. It had a clear winner from this exercise and spent the last few months identifying the right client partner and bringing it to life. 

So, BBDO just launched 'Reel Page Turner' – the first-of-its-kind partnership that turns newly released books into animated trailers, bringing potential new readers beyond the front cover so they can discover new books. With help from Meta, BBDO partnered with the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, to target new readers in a place they already spend most of their time – IG Reels.

Why use a competitive medium to instil a love of reading, you might ask? Well, 17.6 million hours of content are watched on Reels each day, while 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years. Mind = blown. By targeting them in this space BBDO had the opportunity to capture their attention.

To make sure the work felt native to the platform, the team chose the best hooks and a lo-fi animation style that brings the pages to life. Much like the experience of reading, the illustrations feel intimate, handmade, and human in a way that enhances and breathes new life into the overall journey for the reader.

The team also intentionally chose books from different genres so that they can leverage Meta’s targeting capabilities to find new readers. With each book, the style of visual storytelling is slightly varied – inspired by the distinctive feeling that each story leaves the reader with. BBDO's launch work highlights three authors and their new book releases: 

“When we set out on the Reels global training and creative sprint with our partners at Meta we didn’t really know what would come out of it. This is what we were secretly hoping for. Content that is perfectly 'FFP' (fit for platform), built on a strong foundational idea, produced fast and cheap, AND proving that Lo-Fi doesn’t mean Lo-craft.” said Andrew Robertson, president and CEO, BBDO Worldwide.

“It was an amazing opportunity for Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group to partner with BBDO and Meta and achieve our shared goal of helping readers find fantastic books. The animations BBDO created for Dolly Alderton’s Ghosts, Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons, and Daniel Sloss’ Everyone You Hate Is Going To Die, paired with voiceovers from Penguin Random House audiobooks, made the authors’ memorable stories and vivid characters enticingly come to life. We feel inspired by the creative and innovative approach BBDO and Meta brought to this project, and we are confident that these important books will now reach a new and wider audience.” said Kristin L. Fassler, senior vice president, director of marketing and backlist strategy / Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Penguin Random House

"It was great collaborating with BBDO on the Reels Creative Sprint - embracing Reels as a portal to culture, and creating and iterating at the speed that culture is moving. This is a crucial shift in the industry. And we're thrilled to lead alongside creative partners like BBDO, building new ways to inspire and connect with the billions of people on our platform." said Jimmie Stone, vice president, global head of creative shop at Meta