# Have there been any book commercials on TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929 "2009-08-19T06:17:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/1 "2009-08-19T06:17:25Z")
I just thought about it, not sure why, but I did. I’ll admit, I don’t watch the channels most people do, but even on Cartoon Network I’m surprised I’ve never seen so much as a Harry Potter commercial. And come to think of it, quite surprised that at the very least Discovery or History never plugged an Encyclopedia or book on WWII or something. I’ve seen plenty of commercials aimed at getting kids to learn to read or telling them appreciate books. I may have seen one or two commercials plugging products like Colbert’s or Stewart’s books on their networks (though I’m not sure if that was only on their show or not, I don’t recall seeing straight commercials on CC but I could be wrong). But I don’t think I’ve ever really seen a commercial for a novel or non-fiction work in recent memory. I may have seen one or two Scholastic Book Club commercials way back when (like, mid '90s), but I could be imagining those. But even that wouldn’t be plugging a book so much as a service/series. Are there any you can think of? And no, “how to make money fast!” schemes don’t count as “books” for purposes of this discussion. I’m entirely willing to accept that I simply watch the wrong channels. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/2 "2009-08-19T06:31:13Z")
Yes I have actually! I was very surprised by it. I haven’t seen it recently, but I saw it multiple times a month or two back. It was not a children’s book, not a Colbert/Stewart book, and not a Trudeau-esque scam book. The commercial had the book floating in front of a mountain landscape or some such. I had never heard of the author, which added to my surprise. “Hm, some guy I’ve never heard of has a commercial for a normal book. That’s pretty cool.” Sorry I couldn’t remember anything specific at all, I don’t pay the best of attention to commercials. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/3 "2009-08-19T06:52:52Z")
I’ve seen occasional TV ads for airport-style pulp fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/4 "2009-08-19T07:04:51Z")
The only one I’ve seen lately was a blip- maybe 10 seconds if that- at the end of a TV show (one of those “show credits are rolling in a small box in the corner” things) announcing Dan Brown’s new book _The Lost Symbol_. Scientology used to air ads for _Dianetics_ but I haven’t seen any lately. (The Mormons and other religious groups occasionally advertise but I’m assuming you’re not referring to religious books.) I know I’ve seen book commercials but they’re very rare. The reason is probably money; the price of a 30 second ad even on cable would make a huge dent in or exceed the advertising budget of most books from authors who aren’t well known while authors who are well known probably don’t need the exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/5 "2009-08-19T07:10:38Z")
_The Lost Symbol_ is the book I was talking about! Dan Brown sounds familiar to my sleep deprived brain. Probably done something super famous and that I own a copy of. EDIT: The commercials I’ve seen for it were longer than 10-second blips though. They were true commercials during a normal commercial break. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/6 "2009-08-19T07:13:17Z")
I’ve seen a few. Normally, it’s just a narrator going on about all the romance and intrigue, well showing a shot of the book over a scenic background. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/7 "2009-08-19T07:14:35Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > _The Lost Symbol_ is the book I was talking about! Dan Brown sounds familiar to my sleep deprived brain. Probably done something super famous and that I own a copy of. > > EDIT: The commercials I’ve seen for it were longer than 10-second blips though. They were true commercials during a normal commercial break. Da Vinci Code. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/8 "2009-08-19T08:21:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I’ve seen occasional TV ads for airport-style pulp fiction. Me too, hey’re usually incredibly short, just a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/9 "2009-08-19T11:42:57Z")
There have been ads for books on TV for decades. They are generally airport-style page-turners, but they’re generally by established “names” in the field. They seem to be 30 second spots. I recall in particular that Sidney Sheldon’s **the Other Side of Midnight** was advertised on TV right after midnight on New Year’s Eve (clever, huh?). This was clearly after the 1973 release, and before the 1977 movie, so that pegs that they’ve been doing this for at least 35 years. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/10 "2009-08-19T13:01:38Z")
They’re currently running ads for James Patterson’s _Swimsuit_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/11 "2009-08-19T13:29:32Z")
Of course, there’s the classic Donavan Freberg Encyclopedia Brittanica ad. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/12 "2009-08-19T13:52:37Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I’ve seen occasional TV ads for airport-style pulp fiction. Yeah, that’s all I’ve ever seen. Mostly they’re for James Patterson books like Kiss the Girls and whathaveyou. I may have seen ads for Ed McBain or Patricia Cornwell, but I don’t know for sure if they were on TV. ETA: I think I remember TV commercials for Stephen King’s _Duma Key_. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/13 "2009-08-19T14:03:01Z")
I was going to mention _Dianetics_. There are also the occasional late night “But wait! That’s not all!” commercials. Time/Life occasionally has these, and I came this --\> \<-- close to ordering a series of history books from them once. Haven’t I occasionally seen ads for cookbooks? I’m not sure. And I think that Jackie Collins has had some ads. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/14 "2009-08-19T14:11:06Z")
But for Time/Life ads, I’d never have learned about the outlaw who shot a man for snorin’ too loud. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/15 "2009-08-19T14:41:59Z")
Yes, I remember seeing ads for “Along Came a Spider.” ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/16 "2009-08-19T14:57:50Z")
I’m sure I’ve seen them, but nothing I particularly remembered. However, recently I saw an ad for a book… in a movie theater. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Looked amusing. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/17 "2009-08-19T15:03:12Z")
Yeah, here in the UK each time James Patterson has a new pulp novel out we get bombarded with ads for it on the main TV channels, complete with hokey dramatizations of the plotline. It surprised me because I hadn’t seen this kind of marketing for novels before. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/18 "2009-08-19T15:04:31Z")
I remember the _Dianetics_ TV ads from the Eighties, too, and an ad for some potboiler romance/thriller - Jacqueline Susann, maybe? - from around the same time. Otherwise none. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/19 "2009-08-19T16:20:14Z")
There are a lot of ads for various James Patterson books, and some female author whose name escapes me at the moment. They only started within the last few years, though. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929/20 "2009-08-19T16:35:32Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > They’re currently running ads for James Patterson’s _Swimsuit_. There have been a bunch of ads for Patterson’s books. Since Patterson himself appears in most of the ads, he has an unusual voice, and they usually have titles based on nursery rhymes, I used to parody Patterson’s voice: “This is James Patterson, with my newest thriller _Hickory Dickory Dock_.” > [@Covered\_In\_Bees!](#): > > It was not a children’s book, not a Colbert/Stewart book, and not a Trudeau-esque scam book. The commercial had the book floating in front of a mountain landscape or some such. That might be the ad for _Dianetics_, since the cover depicts a volcano. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-book-commercials-on-tv/506929.md?page=2)