Connor Grigsby decided to run for Student Body President of American Fork High school and needed help garnering votes. To aid in his campaign an interactive jedi zombie adventure film was produced and aired on YouTube in conjunction with posters and social media endeavors. Designed to increase familiarity of Connor with his classmates and play on unique characteristics he possessed, the entire campaign revolved around the personability of Connor.
High school government elections are essentially a popularity contest. With this in mind the strategy of the campaign became to expose Connor to as many students in the school as possible in order to develop relationships. Connor has one very unique and differentiating characteristic, a long jedi hair braid which he has been growing for two years. We capitalized on this identifier, linked it to the popular zombie trend, and tied it into social media by creating a video series. The result was an interactive jedi zombie adventure film where Connor must use a light saber to save the high school’s mascot from terrifying zombies. Choose incorrectly and everyone dies!
In order to film the videos an open invitation was sent out to Connor’s classmates where they could come to his house, eat pizza, have a professional make-up artist zombify them, and be part of the film. Upon the films completion a viewing party was held for everyone to see what they were a part of. This along with the posters at the school which had a QR code to access the videos, and social media endeavors resulted in Connor winning the election.
Filming
Many of Connor’s classmates came to help film the videos. They were able to experience what it is like to have a professional make-up artist turn them into full fledged zombies. When the camera was not rolling Connor was able to interact with people and establish relationships in hopes of getting their votes later. For many of the people it was a once in a lifetime experience they shared on social media and told their friends about, furthering the reach of Connor’s campaign. By directly involving the voting constituents and creating relationships with them Connor was able to win the election.
