• Ad Age, Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:18 PM

Lionsgate Films has come up with an unusual campaign for its slice 'em up movie "Saw III"--it has arranged a blood drive in 25 markets and persuaded actor Tobin Bell, who plays the villain Jigsaw, to donate his own blood for a poster.

While a first for Hollywood, the idea is not completely without precedent, as Adidas drew blood from members of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and mixed it with ink that was used to make posters. Lionsgate executives say they wanted to do something unusual for the film and focus on the villain in the final weeks before release. Tim Palen, Lionsgate's co-president of marketing, said he had the idea to use real blood in the posters because he figured it would create the most authentic shade of red.

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