HarperOne and MTV Unite for ‘Spiritual Windows’
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 10/12/2007 1:30:00 PM
Which major publisher might be likely to promote its books on MTV? Your first guest probably isn’t a publisher of religion and spirituality titles. Yet HarperOne has just announced an alliance with the network best 
known for music videos, reality TV shows and celebrity news.
Starting next week, 10 HarperOne authors will provide voice-overs from their books on MTV spots called Spiritual Windows. A bit like public service announcements for spiritual seekers, the spots combine the voice-overs from inspirational books with instrumental music by the Beastie Boys and animation by Argentinean design firm Punga Visual Consorcio. MTV launched the 15- and 30-second shorts, known in the business as "promo spots," three years ago. This new crop of Spiritual Windows will run for a week starting Monday, Oct. 15 and will be available for viewing on MTV.com until October 2008.
HarperOne authors Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist), Noah Levine (Dharma Punx) and Oriah Mountain Dreamer (The Invitation) are among the 10 writers who have provided voice-overs from their work. The selected works are not necessarily new; some were published more than 10 years ago. At the
end of each spot, the author’s name will appear. As of yesterday, MTV could not confirm that the book title would appear as well.
Mark Tauber, HarperOne v-p and deputy publisher, is thrilled with the arrangement, noting, “it’s harder and harder to market books in general. How do you make books stand out, and make them stand out to that all-important demographic? [MTV targets 12- to 34-year olds.] Who knows how it will drive sales, but it’s a very different approach to marketing.”
Tauber approached Kevin Mackall, senior v-p of on-air promotions at MTV, after seeing some of the spots last year and recognizing some of his authors’ voices on them. MTV had been working directly with authors for the spots, but was receptive when Tauber told them he could provide them with a large list of potential texts for future spots. Mackall explained Spiritual Windows as “moments of peace” meant to satisfy MTV viewers’ “big spiritual appetite” and serve as “image work” for MTV. HarperOne is currently the only publisher MTV is collaborating with for Spiritual Windows, and Mackall said he wants to continue the relationship.
