A campaign from audio storytelling provider Audible brings to life how lovers of the Romance genre can be fully immersed by listening.

The new campaign from Fold7 is designed to connect with existing fans of Romance and to encourage new audiences to discover the stories that the genre has to offer.

At the heart of the campaign, an all-encompassing romance film tells the tale of Airwyn, an elven princess duty-bound to marry a king. As the ceremony is about to take place, her long-lost lover bursts into the room on horseback, interrupting the wedding and allowing Airwyn to break free of her duty to embrace true love. 

Just as the pair are about to kiss, the scene collapses and the world crumbles. The spot reveals that the story exists in the imagination of a listener sitting in a laundrette with headphones on. The spot shows that with Audible, listeners can fully escape into a story.

The campaign taps into the surge in popularity for the Romance genre, which has experienced an uptick and been the subject of BookTok. Other key campaign visuals tap into romance subcultures such as Regency and Spicy Romance.

Capitalising on the power of storytelling and world-building, the Romance genre allows Audible to bring to life the way listening to a book allows audiences to escape.

The campaign film directed by Adam Berg required an extensive set build made up of a 16ft rotating plinth, giant trampolines and stunt performers on wires performing aerial gymnastics. 

Visual elements of the campaign have been shot by Charlotte Rutherford, whose work takes on a dream-like quality. In one execution, audiences see a character grabbing a late-night snack that is then transported into a sultry candlelit affair. Another depicts a woman picking up groceries as she watches two Regency-era lovers kiss by a lake. 

Key visuals will be adapted for print, digital and social, while motion formats using VFX are able to combine the everyday with the richness of imagined worlds.

“There's always fun to be had when we collide the mundane with the richness of what's going on in listeners’ imaginations. With the Romance genre, that's never been truer. This genre has it all - epic worlds, charismatic protagonists, passion, and dragons. It's a long way from most people's everyday experience, but that's the joy of it,” says Dave Billing, ECD at Fold7.

The global campaign will run across the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, and Spain via TV, outdoor, print, digital, social, and radio, as well as additional assets and initiatives. 

Through all-encompassing storytelling, the Romantic genre brings to life the power of Audible to enable audiences to escape the everyday.