Interactive trailer for Peter James paperback

Pan Macmillan has created a “choose your own ending” book trailer for the paperback release of Peter James’ Want You Dead.

Can you save Red? shows a kidnapped woman tied up, and asks viewers to choose one of three endings, placing the character’s fate and freedom in their hands.

The trailer aims to place people in the place of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, the investigator at the centre of Want You Dead, with Pan Mac saying the video was part of the “digital innovation” at the “core” of James’s brand.

The idea from the trailer came from an advert by Skittles, with Pan Mac saying YouTube feels “like the ideal platform through which to grow Peter James’ audience, engage his existing fans, and keep his brand on the cusp of innovation”.

Jodie Mullish, head of fiction marketing, said: “The decision the viewer makes either rescues the heroine, allows her to save herself, or leaves her in the hands of the murderer. The interactive nature of Can You Save Red? encourages increased engagement with the brand, and with the book: viewers are more invested because they are actively taking part rather than passively watching. Plus, there is a strong desire for repeated viewing to find out what the different outcomes are.”