Michelle Obama Lights Up the Night Sky
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has been lighting up the night sky in London to promote her new book The Light we Carry, published by Viking, part of Penguin Random House (PRH). The publisher projected giant images of the cover onto iconic London landmarks, among them Knightsbridge, opposite Harrods, and Marble Arch at the end of Oxford Street. PRH also featured the book on the UK’s widest advertising space on the concourse at Waterloo Station.
The Marble Arch projection included a handwritten quote from the author: ‘We become bolder in brightness’.
The Light We Carry is described as “an inspirational volume full of fresh stories from the former First Lady, sharing her practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful in an uncertain world”.
Amelia Fairney, Penguin General communications director, said: “Since we published Becoming (Viking) four years ago, many of us have faced enormous challenges, so we are thrilled to be publishing an author who offers a message of hope and optimism and whose personal wisdom will resonate with so many. In The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama draws on lessons from her own life to offer a practical toolkit for living boldly. Our campaign aims to take her helpful and much needed new book to the widest possible readership.”
PRH has launched an ambitious outdoor campaign in the UK with premium sites across National Rail and the London Underground. There are huge 48-sheet roadside poster sites booked from 21 November until 4 December in Manchester, Birmingham and London. These “light-up” billboards will change creative from day to night, to reveal a hidden message.
Viking has also booked a major Spotify advertising package for the first time, planned to reach over one million podcast listeners for one month. A global radio campaign across commercial stations will also run in December for Christmas gifting, and a digital advertising campaign has been running since the book was first announced and will continue through to Christmas.
And of course, such eye-catching projected images like the ones in London will reach huge audiences via social media as people share the images on social media. In the age of Instagram, the public becomes part of a publisher’s marketing department.
