Red Cross and 'Walking Dead' team up for blood

We have all heard of Public Service Announcements (PSAs), now comes the PZA, as in Public Zombie Announcement, thanks to The American Red Cross. AMC and the American Red Cross continues its drive called “The American Red Cross Zombie Blood Drive” through Oct. 22. The event is sure to pick up steam, or blood, today (Oct. 14) as "The Walking Dead" premieres. According to the American Red Cross, the drive is esigned to put the spotlight on the constant need for blood. Over the summer, the Red Cross issued more than one alert on the need for blood, and now they enlist the help celebrities as well. That list includes Peter Jackson, The Black Keys, EXTRA’s Maria Menounos, Joel Madden, Mena Suvari, Aisha Tyler, Jimmy Smits and NASCAR’s Kurt Busch. All of these celebrities will be “zombie-fied” through digital portraits, which will be created by “The Walking Dead’s” own Greg Nicotero. He supplies the special effects on the show. “We’re honored to team up with AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ and all of the zombie-fied celebrities to highlight this important cause,” said Randy Edwards, chief executive officer, American Red Cross Southern Blood Services Region. Not only is the drive meant to make donors give blood, they want us to use are brains too, as zombies like.The PZA reminds viewers to "use their brains and give blood." Oh, and AMC is also organizing a special sweepstakes to thank those who support blood donations through the Red Cross. “Someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds and that need could skyrocket in the event of a zombie apocalypse,” added Edwards. The grand prize is a visit to the set of “The Walking Dead” in Atlanta, GA. For details on the contest, head here.