Land Rover and esteemed British author William Boyd recently unveiled a collaboration that uses social media, hashtags, Tumblr, microsites, and perhaps most surprising of all: literature.
In a novella titled “The Vanishing Game,” Boyd weaves the tale of Alec Dunbar, a London-based actor fallen on hard times who takes a job delivering a parcel to a mysterious client in Scotland. Readers can get the e-book for free on Amazon right now, and/or experience it as an immersive experience on the book’s Tumblr page and microsite.
The online pages use all sorts of neat gimmicks to augment the novella’s story. Like any good mystery, there are plenty of shadowy characters and locales to fill up the mind of the reader. Thanks to the Tumblr page, readers can also see and hear the story enfold in a number of dimensions.
Boyd says that Land Rover gave him complete creative control over what to write about. An acclaimed novelist, screenwriter, and Brooks Prize nominee, Boys is also writing the next James Bond novel, which is coveted literary territory. Land Rover’s only stipulation was that a Defender model be used somewhere in the story (Boyd has Dunbar choose the Defender as his guide into the remote reaches of Scotland).
The combined virtual-literary experience is the brainchild of Y&R; New York, a creative agency. The book’s Tumblr uses embedded links, clickable action words and even video shot on-location to make the story more vivid for readers. It’s an interesting experiment that explores the boundaries of offline versus online content, and is worth checking out.
If you’re a purist, you can always read the book on your tablet or e-reader without all of the fancy clickable doo-dads. We’re not aware of a paper copy of the novella at this point, so you’ll have to settle for a free story on e-ink.
If you’re looking for a Range Rover in Raleigh, feel free to stop by our showroom and begin weaving a story of your own.