Today Land Rover published The Vanishing Game, a new miniature novel written by well-known British author William Boyd, on a "custom Tumblr page." Moving illustrations and sounds follow along with the story as you scroll through it. It's... kind of fascinating.

To say nothing of the story itself, the presentation is quite intricate and very pretty. You can check it out for yourself , but be warned it seems to guzzle a good deal of computer processing power.

There's also going to be an eBook edition for your Kindles and iPhones and whatnot, which sure looks a lot mroe advanced than the "black-on-white" book files I'm used to reading. Maybe this is the next evolution of mainstream books. Moving colors and noises make everything more interesting after all, right?

It's an interesting marketing tool for an SUV brand, to be sure. So why would Land Rover bother with something like this? The company's Marketing VP Kim McCullough has pretty much the answer you expect:

"The Vanishing Game project captures how driving and adventures are a rich part of the Land Rover DNA. We are constantly exploring new ways to bring our owners' passion for their vehicles to life, this time in a commissioned literary project penned by a remarkably talented British author and offered to the world through the latest interactive digital spaces."

"This project's platform also allows our owners to complement Boyd's storytelling with their own adventure-oriented stories. We hope fans of literary adventure thrillers enjoy the story, and perhaps see themselves driving across the Scottish countryside in one of our iconic vehicles."

Of course Land Rover's thinking a lot further than "you'll buy a car because you read about it in our funky book." They've pretty much always traded on a brand aura of pompous mystique, perpetuated by projects like this.

I give them credit for doing something different, and as far as engaging commercial-content goes this is pretty well executed. So what do you say; will semi-interactive Tumblr-powered storybooks have a place in the future of automotive advertising?