http://selfdestructingbook.com

For the launch of James Patterson’s new book Private Vegas, we took the inherent thrill of this novel to a spectacular, new height.

We created the Self-Destructing Book. An integrated campaign designed to bring to life the most thrilling reading experiences ever. We gave people 24 hours to read “Private Vegas” before it self-destructed.

1,000 fans had 24 hours to read an advance digital version of the book until it self­-destructed in a spectacular fashion. Thousand of others followed along and interacted with the readers. Unique codes were created and released in batches throughout the 5 days of the experience.

Readers and online users were connected, and to increase the adrenaline in their race against the clock, people visiting the site were able to “sabotage” the readers’ timers and steal time from them.

The iPad-only reading experience included a menacing page burner that destroyed every page as the user swiped it. To intensify the thrill, a control panel informed readers when someone stole time from them and when other books were destroyed.