Audible came to us to launch a 360 campaign promoting an iconic performance by Laurence Fishburne of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Audible knew it was the right time to engage with the controversial and magnificent qualities of Malcolm X that make the autobiography so iconic and relevant. We are now again in a polarized society where this autobiography has new relevance. Audible wanted to directly target people passionate about social justice and people interested in black history. We needed a campaign that reminded people how impactful and relevant these words still remain today.

By juxtaposing imagery from the civil rights movement with imagery from the present, our campaign reinforces how the struggle for racial justice is still being confronted today. Malcolm X, like America, cannot be defined by one period or chapter of his life. By highlighting the multifaceted nature of his personality we were able to shed new light on the complex and relatable individual that he was while appealing to a younger generation of historians and social activists. To articulate the enduring relevance of Malcolm’s story, we worked with Audible to craft the line “Malcolm’s Story is America’s Story”.

The creative development of this campaign occurred just as the BLM movement emerged. This global reckoning had a huge influence on our process, informing the content we featured and the story we felt compelled to tell.

Given the current events that were happening in real time, it was decided that we would postpone our final delivery until BLM protest photography was more readily available. This allowed us to feature the most compelling and relevant imagery. We worked with the Library of Congress and Malcolm’s family to curate archival imagery used to frame the movement happening today through the struggles of the past.

Our campaign captured a pivotal moment in the countries political discourse, launching just before the 2020 presidential campaign, during the height of a global pandemic and at a critical moment of racial reckoning. The final touch points scaled across OOH advertising, print, social, on-air and digital.

In order to maximize engagement, it was important that the campaign live across multiple social platforms. Upon launch, Malcolm’s words became an outlet for the BLM movement and drove the campaign to extend and further impact our audience. At publishing, our work is being viewed by tens of thousands and counting. To further connect this message with a younger generation, we produced a second trailer to be broadcast during the Billboard Music Awards. The illustrative nature of the animation referenced iconic protest posters and album art that resonated during the civil rights movement giving added context to how we articulate Malcolm’s story.