Cash is king and in The Walking Dead Blood Store, so is blood. In a weird and slightly disturbing move, creative agency Torke+CC teamed up with Portugal’s national blood bank institute, IPST, for a promotion for The Walking Dead. The fourth season of the zombie drama was headed to the Fox channel in Portugal, and they wanted to bump ratings and do some good. They achieved this by opening The Walking Dead Blood Store.

It’s not uncommon for blood banks to use swag as an incentive to donate. Blood drives happen on-site at conventions like San Diego Comic-Con. You donate a pint of blood to the San Diego Blood Bank, and you get a bag of goodies that includes items such as toys, a t-shirt, and comics. With The Walking Dead Blood Store, participants donated varying amounts of blood and the milliliters served as currency they could use to get Walking Dead merchandise like t-shirts and travel mugs. Torke+CC stated, “The more milliliters of blood given, the more and better the products.”

The campaign had a positive effect. Torke+CC reports a 571% increase in blood donation over the previous year and a 17% increase in viewers for The Walking Dead. While I’m all for donating blood and encouraging others to do so, the part where you get access to more products by donating more blood gives me an icky vibe. They presumably had monitors on hand to stop people from giving too much blood for the sake of t-shirt, but I would like the idea better if everyone got the same items in return for their donation – regardless of the amount.

However, others may not agree. Since the event was so popular and successful, Torke+CC is planning to replicate The Walking Dead Blood Store in other countries.

How do you feel about the idea of trading blood for merchandise? Sound off in the comments.

HT: Geeks Are Sexy