“The Walking Dead”: AMC and the American Red Cross team up for blood drive

AMC, home of the hit drama “The Walking Dead,” and the American Red Cross have formed a partnership for the “The American Red Cross Zombie Blood Drive” campaign, which begins today and runs through Oct. 22.

Celebrities supporting the campaign include Peter Jackson, The Black Keys, Joel Madden, Mena Suvari, “Extra’s” Maria Menounos, Jimmy Smits, Laird Hamilton, NASCAR’s Kurt Busch, Aisha Tyler, Elisabeth Rohm and Whitney Port, and each celebrity will be “zombie-fied” through digital portraits created by “The Walking Dead’s” own special effects make-up master Greg Nicotero, according to a news release.

The celebrity photos will be shown in what’s billed as a custom Public “Zombie” Announcement (“PZA”) reminding viewers to use their brains and give blood through the Red Cross. The “PZAs” will air on AMC and on the network’s campaign micro-site online at www.amcgiveblood.com.