The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fights against censorship and believes all stories deserve the chance to be told.
This campaign mirrors the experience of Prohibition, when alcohol was prohibited, and creates a speakeasy for books. The speakeasies-- coined 'Booklegs'-- would appear during Banned Books week.
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OOH Posters will clue pedestrians as to where the Booklegs are located.
Reference: "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.
Reference: "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker.
Reference: "1984" by George Orwell.
The QR codes will lead scanners to an unlisted page on the ACLU website:
The Booklegs will blend in as modern, 21st century businesses.
Inside, they will have bookshelves full of banned books.
• Booklegs would be placed in 5 major areas where libraries are being threatened.
• Name of storefronts for Booklegs would include references from banned books.
• Proceeds from Bookleg would go towards helping libraries and other organizations fight against the censorship of books.
Starr Carter is the protagonist of "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas.
Oceania is the name of the superstate in "1984" by George Orwell.
Hidden Book Displays
At local bookstores, ACLU will cover up book displays of banned books and include a link to the Bookleg website.
ACLU will partner with Book Of the Month Club and BookTok influencers, to send an empty box with no book. The influencers would do an unboxing and discuss why the book is banned and give a clue to the location of the speakeasy.
