Partnering with the AMC zombie hit, the American Red Cross Walking Dead Campaign strives to encourage more individuals to give blood by recruiting undead celebrity supporters. Special effects make-up artist Greg Nicotero, who is in charge of the make-up for the series, turned well-known celebrities into gruesome living dead characters. Familiar faces, such as the Black Keys and Joel Madden, had their features manipulated to look like gruesome ghouls and then, were photographed and filmed to appeal to the audience.
The tagline of the campaign is that should there be a zombie apocalypse or natural disaster, the access to a well-supplied blood bank is what will make the difference between life or death. A PSA announcement to encourage people to save human lives just like Rick, Michonne and the other characters of the living dead series will air during each showing of the program. The Red Cross Walking Dead Campaign stresses that there is always a need for blood and it's detrimental that people realize how important it is to give.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Undead Celebrity Marketing
- Opportunity to leverage famous personalities transformed into zombies to promote products or causes.
- Entertainment-driven Charity Campaigns
- Growing trend of partnering with popular TV shows or movies to raise awareness for social causes.
- Apocalyptic Preparedness
- Increasing demand for products and services related to survival and disaster preparedness.
Where This Applies
- Marketing and Advertising
- Disruption potential in creating unique marketing campaigns by incorporating celebrity endorsers portrayed as zombies.
- Charity and Nonprofit
- Opportunity for charities to collaborate with entertainment franchises to attract attention and increase public engagement.
- Emergency Preparedness and Survival
- Potential for innovation in products, services, and training related to disaster preparedness and survival techniques.
