Coded To Succeed

There are books and then there are books like The Da Vinci Code which script incredible success stories in terms of sales and overall popularity. There have been an increasing number of books being made into films worldwide since the 1990s.
Sometimes, its the film that creates more publicity and sales for the book and sometimes its vice-versa.
But since the introduction of the Harry Potter series, it has been observed that the books have done a roaring business and have also been instrumental in creating a lot of hype around the films(based on those books) when they are released.
The Da Vinci Code is no exception in this context. The controversies surrounding the core subject matter, have made the book and the film a craze amongst millions worldwide. The subject matter however has been extremely disturbing for many Catholics across the globe and especially for the 'guardians' of the Vatican.
Any Tom Hanks film is a treat for any true cine lover but then with The Da Vinci Code, the stimulating factor is much more than Tom Hanks who plays the principal character of Robert Langdon in the film.
The book has actually not only lent publicity to the film but also to the previous books written by the author Dan Brown. One such book being Angels and Demons.
There are several reasons for The Da Vinci Code to be a run away success as a book. There are lots of elements in the novel which are true and there are many places mentioned in the book which actually exist but which were unknown to us prior to reading the novel. Secondly, is the plot, which is simply without a single dull moment.
Thirdly and most importantly, Dan Brown, through his book has added a new dimmension to some of Leonardo Da Vinci's renowned paintings like the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Vitruvian Man.

The way, Brown has used these paintings as indicators to project the true nature of The Holy Grail and also the motive behind the murder of Jacques Sauniere, the curator of Louvre musuem is simply incredible.

The world has learnt a lot about these paintings and also the various possible hidden connotations in them. In short, this book is just not an entertaining and thrilling read but also an extremely informative and well researched one.

Frankly speaking, high-profile publicity do create a lot of hype and what not but then, at the end of the day, if the content isn't appreciable, the publicity efforts soon lose their magic. Hence, though there have been lots of innovative publicity tools and techniques that have gone into marketing The Da Vinci Code, but it has been the book's content that has been a clear and deserving winner.