Paper Plus has launched a sarcastic new ad campaign, via FCB, that’s a dramatic shift from its previous marketing. With no blobby green alien mascot in sight, the stationery retailer is engaging with the millennial market by taking a shot at their addiction to social media sharing.
A new outdoor advert titled ‘Crap Stories’ was released on the 26 December to the New Zealand public. The campaign focuses on the idea that humanity is too preoccupied with social media and Snap stories to engage with good novels, and the suggestion is posed that perhaps it’s time for us to put down our phones and read a proper book.
“Most of us are spending far too much time on social media,” says FCB general manager of retail Kamran Kazalbash. “So, hopefully this campaign will serve as a little reminder that there’s some amazing books out there that are far more worthy of our time than the mindless stuff that fills our news feeds and timelines.”
The campaign separates into the four different sectors: selfies, food, travel and workouts. The adverts feature a close-up shot of your standard Penguin book in a range of colours. The first orange paperback is titled ‘Selfies – My Face From Good Angles.’ This is followed by a green ‘Food – What I Ate Today’, then a purple ‘Travel – My 79th Day in Europe’, and finishes with a blue ‘Workouts – My Muscles in the Mirror’.
The advertisement differs from previous Paper Plus campaigns with its dry and sarcastic tone. One of the previous Paper Plus campaigns released in May focused on Mother’s Day and the concept of people struggling to verbalise their feelings, and that we are often more open when putting pen to paper. This then related this back to an inscription on the inside of a book, and how it could turn a good gift into something a lot more powerful. ‘Crap Stories’ is contrarily different to previous adverts and aims to encourage the millennial generation to take a step back from their phones.
- This story originally appeared on The Register.
*Correction: This article originally stated the campaign went live 20 January.
