Activision's Snapchat Zombie Belts Out Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Drops the Mic

Activision and 72andSunny have found a fun way to capitalize on Snapchat's zombie filter.

Today, the team rolled out a sponsored lens campaign in the U.S. that morphs selfies into zombie faces with "zombie karaoke" sweatbands that sing along (with subtitles) to the classic '80s hit "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Once people record a video of themselves singing the song, they can share it. On Friday, the lens goes live internationally, marking the first time a gaming company has purchased an international lens.

The campaign promotes Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which comes out on Nov. 4 and entails battling "the undead in a space-themed amusement park full of deadly zombies as one of four classic '80s archetypes: the jock, the nerd, the valley girl or the rapper."

Last month, Adweek reported brands were buying into Snapchat's bespoke filters that overlay graphics and videos on selfies, selling 14 one-day national ad placements in five weeks. At the same time, Snapchat has started letting brands buy more than one lens at a time. On Wednesday, Focus Features purchased a sponsored lens for its animated film Kubo and the Two Strings, making it the largest takeover by a brand since 20th Century Fox bought out all the app's lenses back in May to promote the X-Men: Apocalypse movie.

Activision's campaign also includes a Snapchat filter showing zombies creeping into the frame that it will roll out gradually, state-by-state across the U.S.

It's not the first time Activision has had some fun with Snapchat. To launch Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 last year, the brand tweaked Black Ops 2's software to insert Snapcodes into the game that promoted the new version of the game.

Credits
Activision
CEO Activision Publishing – Eric Hirshberg
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer – Tim Ellis
SVP, Consumer Marketing – Todd Harvey
Vice President, Global Media – Caroline McNiel
Senior Director, Global Media – Simone Deocares-Lengyel
Director, Consumer Marketing – David Blaser

72andSunny
Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole
Group Creative Director: Matthew Curry
Creative Director: Tim Wolfe
Creative Director: Rob Teague 
Lead Designer: Jon Hall
Designer: Lauren Albee
Writer: Matt Meszaros
Group Brand Director: Rhea Curry
Brand Director: Simon Hall
Senior Brand Manager: Brett Schneider
Brand Coordinator: Will Nader
Senior Art Producer: Mel Harris
Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Jarvis
Group Strategy Director: Sophie Ozoux
Strategy Director: Daniel Teng
Strategist: Jake Watt

Resolution Media
Associated Director: John La
Supervisor: Phong Tran
Group Director: Mark Brennan
Managing Director: Anthony Koziarski