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How a book burning party saved the Troy Public Library

Apparently, threatening the public with a book burning is a good way to get people to do things for you. Here’s more proof: Troy Library’s Book Burning Party PR campaign actually got the good people of Troy, Michigan, out to vote for a tax increase to support the public library system last summer — to the dismay of the local Tea Party contingent.

Advertising behemoth Leo Burnett Worldwide, the company behind the Book Burning Party campaign, produced a short video to explain how the whole thing worked (hint: the title of the video is “Save the Troy Library: Adventures in Reverse Psychology“).

It paid off for Leo Burnett too. On Thursday, the PR campaign netted the company nine awards at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity recognizing excellence in the communications industry.