• by Todd Wasserman , July 27, 2022

We tend to forget these days, but Amazon first started as an online bookstore. The company’s latest ad reminds users of that fact and presents the joys of reading.

The ad, via Droga5, shows reading as a sort of drug. The spot sees people opening a book and then being drawn into new worlds, represented with animation and other special effects. A woman reading at a diner sees cartoon characters interacting on her table. A man reading in a laundromat sees a flood overtaking a man and a dog in a boat.

The ad’s tagline is “That reading feeling awaits.”

Amazon’s ad comes as the American Booksellers Association has launched a campaign urging consumers to shop from independent and local shops. And the number of independent bookstores in the U.S. has grown by more than 300 shops since 2021.