Brand Repositioning
Barnes & Noble
Creative Director
Havas New York
2019
With Amazon swallowing up most of the retail book business, Barnes & Noble were in trouble. So with bankruptcy looming, we made a big bet on the one thing that differentiates them from their online competition — their friendly, knowledgable, human booksellers.
Meet The Booksellers
When it comes to super fans, nobody knows them better than our 23,000 Booksellers.
Potter :15
"This commercial is adorable!" –J.K. Rowling
Thrill Seekers :15
George R.R. Martin :15
Board Gamers :15
Chosen One :15
The Wizarding World
To remind folks that we're the home of Harry Potter, we ran this brand spot during the release of the latest film in the franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Spells :30
How does the story end?
After four straight years of sales decline, B&N experienced a 16% uptick in sales during the 2018 holiday season, raising their stock price and investor outlook for a potential company buyout.
By summer 2019, Barnes & Noble had found a new owner.
"Barnes & Noble Is Sold to Hedge Fund After a Tumultuous Year"
– The New York Times
"Elliott Management to acquire Barnes & Noble for $683 million"
– CNBC
"Barnes & Noble is making a comeback"
– CNN Business
"How Barnes & Noble turned a page, expanding for the first time in years"
– NPR Business
"How Barnes and Noble made a comeback by revitalizing its philosophy"
– PBS News
Press
Adweek
The Drum
Campaign US
Little Black Book
Credits
CCO
Harry Bernstein
President
Tim Maleeny
ECD
Israel Garber
CD
Joseph Delhommer
Nick Elliott
Senior Copywriter
Morgan Perrine
Art Director
Eduardo Camacho
Allyn Scherr
Keegan Sanford
Copywriter
Alexis Carr
Chandler Bullock
Taylor Schumaker
Design
Melissa DeOliveira
Account
Elena Grasmann
Pedro Gómez
Quinn Levin
Harry Potter Consultant
Angela Li
Strategy
Nushien Fateh
Producers
Stacy Flaum
Sheena Wagaman
Directors
Matt Smukler
Ben & Dave
Editor
Jai Shukla
Jim Ulbrich
Color
Tim Masick
Company3
Production
Community Films
Nomad Editing
©2025 Joseph Delhommer
High fives to all the awesome individuals who helped make this work possible.