Last but not least: Books in Wolf's Clothing

Another episode from the series «Ad Agencies Solve Social Problems.» The a sleepy Mexican driver We saw that last week. Leo Burnett helped English drivers get used to the Drinking, Publicis gave Mexican female drivers the Makeup ... Albanian drivers, who only let pedestrians cross the street when there is a funeral procession, and who McCann Tirana Proves Them Wrong ...would also have fit into the series.

So today, we’re talking about the Ecuadorians who are «lazy readers.» Although “lazy readers” isn’t quite accurate. They do read—at least from the perspective of the Librería Española bookstore—they just read the wrong things. Namely, tabloid newspapers in the popular tabloid format. Sensational stories all day long.

In contrast, real books without colorful pictures, sensational headlines, and scandalous stories have a hard time competing. Unless, that is, you package them in a way that makes them visually speak the same language. McCann produced a tabloid-format newspaper and filled it with scandalous stories, big headlines, and equally large photos. The twist: All the sensational stories were taken from bestsellers in the traditional book market. At the end of each article was the note: «If this story caught your attention, you have to read the book XY.» The effect was immediate: Not only did the entire print run of the newspaper sell out and people on the street discuss the stories—the bookstore also saw nearly a 30 percent increase in foot traffic during the campaign. (hae)