Audible Is Facing Major Backlash for Its Playback Speed Commercial

Competition is at an all-time high, and companies are working their magic in every way possible to attract new customers while keeping their loyal ones coming back for more.

Audible recently tried this approach by promoting its Narration Speed — aka playback speed — which allows listeners to adjust how fast or slow a book is read to them.

Instead of applause, though, Audible’s commercial has stirred up backlash on social media. Honestly, it’s hard to pin down exactly why people are so offended by it, but these days, it doesn’t take much to spark outrage (especially online). So, let’s dive into why Audible’s playback speed ad has everyone talking.

Audible dropped a commercial on TikTok on Jan. 3, 2025, with the caption, "Speed it up or slow it down? The decision is yours with Narration Speed." The ad featured several celebrities, including Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang, Jeff Daniels, and Glen Powell. Each shared their preferred playback speed for audiobooks when their turn came on screen.

"Regular speed is good for me," Jeff said. Glen added, "I like a normal 1x listening speed. My heart rate literally spikes. I’m like, no, I want to hear people talk at a normal human rate." Later, Bowen chimed in with his signature humor: "You can round up to 2x, but it’s really, you need 1.8x, which is, I think, what Goldilocks also likes.”

All seemed fine — no controversial remarks, no offensive comments — until a woman in the ad shared her thoughts. She joked, "I think people who go real fast are, I don’t want to say psychopaths, but it’s giving that." The commercial was clearly lighthearted, but some TikTokers weren't laughing.

In her now-viral video, one Tiktoker explained, "Now listen, I understand some people listen at 1x speed, 1.5. I’m like a 1.85 girlie. But the fact that they would even post that when, I would say, a good majority of their subscribers that pay money every month for Audible listen at over 1x speed is absurd. Why would you post that? Why would you put that out there?"

She didn’t stop there, accusing Audible of "trying to shame people for listening at the speed that is most comfortable for them."

Plenty of commenters seemed to agree. One wrote, "I think it was meant to be all in good fun." However, @sellingnwa clapped back, "How it was meant is less important than how it was received by their paying subscribers."

A number of people sided with her. TikToker @shayzok7 commented under Audible’s post, "I listened [to] your judgmental ad on 2x speed [eye roll emoji]." Another user added, "This pmo me off so bad. You should give all your listeners a free credit now."

Still, many struggled to pinpoint the real issue. One commenter explained it was "just a fun commentary on how passionate we all are for our fave speeds." And honestly, maybe that’s all it was — a lighthearted nod to everyone’s audiobook preferences, blown out of proportion by the internet’s constant need for drama.