I had another zombie dream last night.  The topic of walkers has become a slight obsession of mine, like a cat with water.  Can’t go near it but can’t stay away.

The Walking Dead is responsible for my 3am jolts awake – the ones where your eyelids shoot open in fear thanks to the ridiculously vivid story your dreaming mind has just made you the star of.

In my ad agency, the show is a popular topic.  At all-staff luncheons, at water coolers, even interoffice emails are filled with speculation and conversation about the characters and story.  And we’re not alone.  With over 10 million fans, it is the top Facebook page for any AMC show, beating the combined totals of  Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

But the fans aren’t all just zombies.  The page engagement is close to 800,000.  With an app, a social game, behind the scenes videos, and interviews with cast and crew, it covers its bases.  As well, to accompany its massive fan base on social, there is a spin off talk show called The Talking Dead created by actor/comedian/superfan Chris Hardwick.

Even fan-created videos like this one have taken the internet by storm.

It seems this powerhouse brand can’t be stopped, even with weak imitations like this:

The zombie-swag popcorn tub was produced by an ad agency in NYC and although the idea was good, it wasn’t that good.  If AMC had put together something like this, the gruesome image on the tub would’ve been the horrifying bicycle girl from episode 1 season 1, her face mangled to nothing but bones and leftover skin.  It would’ve been for the strongest stomachs only.  And, the popcorn would’ve come out of somewhere other than the stereotypical brains.

This tub represents the zombie-fan of the past.

Besides, every British schoolgirl knows that zombies aren’t interested in brains anymore, so much as the jugular.

Needless to say, there will be imitations but never duplications.  AMC, call me if you need some inspiration, fresh from my nightmares.