"Travel the Worlds"

12 July 2020

30s

Blessed Be the Books

With holidays pretty much off the cards this year (for anyone paying attention, at least), Audible offer a Covid-friendly alternative in this lighthearted ad. Shot in the manner of a vintage commercial (with impressive grading from JAM VFX giving a sheen of authenticity), this film suggests viewers trade their postponed physical trips for some mental travel.

Whether heading to Mars for a thousand-degree sunbathe or taking a trip back in time to Ancient Greece, the ad earnestly draws attention to the ways fiction can help us escape our current confinement. Cute references to 'Harry Potter' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' keep it entertaining.

This is one of several new commercials which are successfully navigating the idea that it's possible to reference the ongoing crisis without adopting the tone of a doctor revealing to a patient that he is suffering from a terminal disease. Kudos to client, agency and director alike for overcoming the burdensome terror of adopting the wrong tone.

UK

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