When even the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases a preparedness guide for a “zombie apocalypse,” you know that the walking dead are a bona fide cultural phenomenon.
That point was made again this week by a series of videos created by Toronto’s Doug & Serge to promote the Canadian Film Centre’s 17th annual Worldwide Short Film Festival.
The online ads spoofing the popular video “Charlie Bit My Finger” – a user-submitted video that has the distinction of being the most watched video on YouTube with more than 300 million views – have attracted more than half a million views since their debut.
While bearing the same title, each of the three short films – also available at CharlieBitMyFinger.ca – is an homage to a specific movie genre: musical, horror and dark comedy.
The runaway hit, with more than 500,000 views to date, is “Charlie Bit My Finger – The Horror.” Shot in a first-person perspective, the one-and-a-half minute video follows a group of people barricaded in a house who come under attack from a zombie horde.
The spot shows the protagonist, “Charlie,” being bitten by a zombie and transformed into one of the walking dead, ending with him being shot. The spot ends with the tag “Anyone can upload. Few can direct.”
Barry Patterson, one of the “braaains” behind the festival – he’s actually director of marketing and communications for the CFC in Toronto – said that the videos are intended to convey the message that while people regularly watch user-submitted videos on sites like YouTube, they can’t compare with the work produced by professional filmmakers.
“We’re letting consumers know that as a content form, the quality and the benefit [of short films] is as high as feature films,” said Patterson. “We really wanted to look at a unique way of showing people the difference between user-submitted video and professionals.
“It’s always about how do you engage the consumer and refresh the campaign, and I think this year we’ve really done that.”
The campaign’s online element is being supported by print ads in publications including The Grid and National Post, out-of-home (billboards and wild postings) and online ads on sites like IMDB.com.
One of the print executions, “Chainsaw,” depicts a woman jogging and a man seemingly cutting down a tree with a chainsaw. The ad features vertical dotted lines and invites viewers to “fold to see why shorter is better.” When folded, the image is transformed into the man chasing the woman with the chainsaw.
The wild poster campaign features faux movie posters for each of the three “Charlie Bit My Finger” shorts, accompanied by posters with the “Anyone can upload. Few can direct” messaging.
Running May 31 to June 5, this year’s short film festival will feature 275 films from 36 countries, and boasts the involvement of Hollywood heavyweights including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Colin Firth and Spike Jonze.
