Maximum Effort, the production company and digital marketing agency founded by Ryan Reynolds, worked with five brands in making commercials that ran during the series finale of “The Walking Dead,” which aired on Sunday.
Maximum Effort produced ads for Deloitte, Autodesk, MNTN, Ring and DoorDash. The “Walking Deadvertising” campaign centers around four characters who died in the show’s 11 season-long marathon — Milton Mamet (Dallas Roberts), Andrea Harrison (Laurie Holden), Rodney (Joe Ando-Hirsh) and Gareth (Andrew West).
Aside from Maximum Effort, Dan Sanborn of AMC Network’s Content Room and Kimmelot was also part of the “Walking Deadvertising” collaboration.
The ads reflect Reynolds’ quick-witted humor that poke fun at zombie horror clichés while advertising the brand’s strengths perfectly.
Take DoorDash for example. The bodyless head of “The Walking Dead” character Rodney uses a severed finger to order groceries, Thai food and even hand sanitizer.
“I don’t know where this finger’s been,” he explains. But it’s clear that DoorDash can deliver anything to anyone’s door (or pike)
A DoorDash courier then appears and very carefully hands the delivery to Rodney’s undead head and snaps a photo as proof.
In the ad for Autodesk, viewers can see Milton Mamet, played by Dallas Roberts, holding a Ded (Ted) Talk. He presents a grunt-powered door handle design he created in Autodesk, removing one of the last obstacles in a zombie horde’s path.
“Now, nothing can stop us!” he exclaims to his rabid, mindless audience.
Gareth (Andrew West) faces an issue that is the polar opposite of what Mamet wants. He’d like for his doors to stay closed to uninvited, very-much-alive human guests, which is why he relies on Ring to see who’s come knocking.
“They’re relentless” says poor Gareth as two elderly ladies refuse to quit ringing his doorbell.
Finally, Andrea, a chief brain officer at Deloitte, invites potential recruits to come on down to the company’s office, where they’re “collecting the biggest, brightest, juiciest brains to help our team shape the future.”
In one last self-deprecating joke, Reynolds attempts to advertise his MNTN television software, only to be interrupted by Andrea who’s still famished after consuming Ryan’s brain.
This partnership between Maximum Effort and Content Room has been a hilarious trip down the memory lane for “The Walking Dead” fans, and brilliant advertising for everyone else.
“It was great partnering with Maximum Effort on this epic partner showcase. Content Room’s unique access to the zombie apocalypse and its millions of living fans is one of the many ways we can contextually bring a brand to life,” said Kim Granito, executive vice president of Content Room and integrated marketing for AMC Networks in a press statement.
