Glitching into Culture: Audible's 1984 Takeover

Audible's 2024 launch of their star-studded "1984" adaptation was a masterclass in leveraging cultural relevance and innovative marketing. Capitalising on the novel's renewed popularity, the campaign targeted both dedicated fans and those familiar but yet to read it.

The two-phase strategy began with a tease phase, disrupting everyday advertising with "glitch-verts" featuring cryptic warnings from the novel. This built anticipation for the launch phase, timed with Winston Smith's first diary entry on April 4th. The launch saw a full-scale media takeover, with partnerships across Cinema, TV, print, and OOH. Channel 4 and DCM featured glitching ads and trailers, while The Guardian decoded "double-speak" in a digital print and audio takeover. Experiential OOH installations brought the novel's themes of surveillance to life. The campaign generated significant buzz, exceeding expectations, and propelling the audio drama to the top of the charts. By cleverly integrating the novel's themes into their marketing, Audible created a truly immersive and impactful campaign that resonated with audiences and solidified the timelessness of Orwell's masterpiece.