Barnes & Noble Nook Color Ad Celebrates Paper Books [VIDEO]

Though Barnes & Noble’s updated Nook Color has a lot of new features to boast about, the inaugural ad campaign for the product makes a case for reading -- with or without the device -- rather than the ereader itself.

The company’s “Read Forever” campaign launches with a 60-second spot featuring voices of avid readers vowing to keep up their passion.  “Till all the books are read and all the pens have all been put down, and everything there is to learn has been learned. Till tears are no longer shed and the zingers have all zinged, and the irony is all ironed out...I will read,” intones the voiceover to the spot, which is read by various narrators.

The commercial, by ad agency Mullen, features non-actors who were spotted by the agency's creative team in real-life reading situations. Interestingly, the ad shows people reading both on the Nook Color and via standard, paper books. "We see people reading on books and on the Nook and we wanted to celebrate it," says Sasha Norkin, vice president of digital marketing for Barnes & Noble. "The Nook is optimized for the reading experience." Norkin adds that other marketing outreach efforts, including in-store, will educate consumers about the Nook's specific features.

Barnes & Noble launched Nook last year at this time with anad following a woman's progression as a reader from Where the Wild Things Are to Pride and Prejudice and finally What to Expect When You're Expecting. Like the current ad, the communication didn't touch on price and functionality, though a November TV spot for Nook Color spot did.

Meanwhile, Amazon's ads for its Kindle ereader have taken the opposite tack. An ad the company introduced last September touted both the fact that the Kindle can be read outdoors by the pool and that it was only $139. Subsequent Amazon ads have been much more lifestyle focused and Apple-like.