Why Danny Trejo and This VR Arcade Encouraged People to Get Their ‘Zombod’ On
With summer 2024 quickly drawing to a close, it’s hard not to look back at the fond memories formed these past few months. Getaways to beautiful foreign destinations? Check. Camping trips and days lounging on the beach? Naturally. Dodging the sunny weather to go inside, play video games and get one’s ‘zombod’ on? How could this ever be in doubt?
If you’re confused by what all that means, and why anyone would want to do that, then you need look no further than Funday’s recent campaign for North American amusement centre Sandbox VR. The brand knew that convincing people to spend some of the most outdoor-worthy months of the year well, not outside, would be a tall order, so it’d need a big sell in order to make it happen. And to this end, it decided to capitalise on the popularity of its signature game, ‘Deadwood Valley’ and the allure of killing zombies to make this happen.
But, that alone wouldn’t be enough. It needed a great creative hook, and the right spokesperson to make it happen. For the team at Funday, the former was pretty simple. In a time when it’s all about getting one’s beach bod or summer bod on, why not instead encourage a focus on getting the perfect zombie-killing body, or ‘zombod’, ready to go? And, to really bring this to the next level, the team solved the latter challenge by bringing in the one and only Danny Trejo. The focus of the hero spot, therein, the famous actor warned of the coming zombie apocalypse, showed off his muscles, and then took to the arcade to gun down some zombies – a true example of courage that any zombie-slaying aficionado should take heed from.
So, to learn more about what it took to bring this fun campaign to life, and why this was the right way to accomplish such a tricky seasonal ask, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Funday’s CEO, Jeff Dack, for a chat.
LBB> Tell us how this campaign got started! What was the brief, and what initial ideas came to mind?
Jeff> Our brief was to incentivise people to come indoors and experience the ultimate VR adventure in the summer, when most people want to be outside. ‘Deadwood Valley’ is one of Sandbox's most popular games and we thought that playing was essentially training for the eventual zombie apocalypse – what better way to do that than put ourselves in the game by asking you and your squad: ‘Are you summer zombod ready?’.
LBB> Creatively speaking, where did the idea of building a ‘zombod’ come from? Was this something you always knew you wanted to do? Or did you wait until Danny Trejo was on board?
Jeff> We started by playing on the classic idea of getting a summer body. We liked the playfulness of training for the apocalypse, and that evolved into ‘getting zombod ready’.
With that established, we thought, ‘Who is the most badass person that you would want to be back-to-back with in an apocalypse?’. Obviously, Danny Trejo.
LBB> So how did you get Danny Trejo involved, and what was collaborating with him like?
Jeff> Sandbox and its incredible PR rep get the credit for reaching out to Danny and his team, getting them excited about the campaign and bringing him in to work on it. He was great to work with – he brought his own personal style to the spot while respecting the original concept and collaborating with our team. We left a little room for improv, and that was really fun to see.
But really, we had zombies, and we had Danny Trejo. The brief was to have fun with it and we did. When it is the right idea and team, it makes it simple.
LBB> The zombie makeup in the spot is super cool. Can you tell us more about how this element of the creative came to life?
Jeff> The look of the zombie was inspired by the ‘Deadwood Valley’ game itself, mixed with classic old-school zombie movies of the past. We worked with our production company to land on a look that captured the spirit of the spot.
LBB> Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from on set?
Jeff> We shot it over one day in a studio in downtown LA. Due to limited time, we had two set ups: the living room and a green screen set up. The spot was written so that we could be super efficient and still have room to play in front of the green screen, getting some great extra footage that we were able to use.
Keeping the fun spirit throughout the day, our zombie actor was never fully out of character and he and Danny had some great back and forth off camera as well, which kept people motivated.
LBB> Danny Trejo shouting ‘YEAHHH’ at the end is ridiculously funny. How many takes were required to get this exactly right?
Jeff> Danny is a pro – he's a one-take master. This part of the shoot wasn't scripted, this was an authentic Danny moment when we asked him to show us how he would respond playing the game, and it all came naturally.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Jeff> We knew we had a tight production schedule and timeline. This isn't a unique issue, but we wanted to make sure we were in-market at the right time to give people the chance to come in and experience their zombod summer. Getting this right all came down to concept. Fortunately, we had a fantastic partner in Sandbox VR, working closely with us to ensure we could deliver on the vision.
LBB> How have people reacted to this campaign?
Jeff> We've seen a really positive reaction online, and that conversation has turned to action, with people coming into locations and talking about the campaign. We're excited that we were able to be a part of getting more people to see this unique group gaming experience.
The summer may not seem like a logical time to convince people to come indoors, but this campaign really proves that with a strong concept, you can always find a solution.
LBB> Finally, did making this campaign inspire you to get your ‘zombod’ on this summer?
Jeff> We clearly still need some more practice – we have to get back to training, as there's still more zombies to take care of!
