ZUGU faces up to death

If you're a little squeamish, you might want to skip through the first 15 or so seconds of this new spot from ZUGU, the iPad case manufacturer.

While the imagery is obviously fake, seeing social media influencer Zane Hijazi have his face torn off in a TikTok-video-gone-wrong situation is a little disconcerting. That aside, or possibly precisely because of that, this social campaign is one that grabs the attention and manages to keep hold of it.

Highlighting their In Case of Death cases (which the campaign states are real) the hero film, created by PDA New York, tells us that people have a common, unspoken fear about what happens to their private digital lives after they've headed to that great server farm in the sky? ZUGU has leaned into this modern anxiety with a case designed to protect not just your device but your digital secrets after death.

The main film, Viral Face Wax Challenge features influencers Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar as they cover Hijazi’s face entirely in green wax. Eventually, the wax hardens and as Hussar starts to peel it off, with his entire face comes off with it. Hijazi’s last words are a request to delete his browser history as he doesn’t want any followers to know about the scandalous secrets on his iPad. 

Cue an actor playing ZUGU’s 'Director of Influencer Marketing', and ZUGU’s real CEO and Founder, Tim Angel, who express mock condolences for Zane’s mock death. There are also other shorter social videos [below] which play into the idea that we're all a heartbeat away from needing someone to go through our stuff.

“ZUGU makes the best iPad case in the world, and we’re constantly evolving the design so our case works great in every situation,” said Angel. “The In Case of Death Case is a funny, first-of-its-kind product that emphasises ZUGU’s commitment to iPad protection in even the most extreme situation: death.”

“We believe the best brand-building leverages culture to show genuine and surprising empathy for consumers,” added David Yankelewitz, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at PDA. “So, to emphasise ZUGU’s obsession with protecting people’s iPads, we used humour to lean into a fear we can all relate to: having people view your browsing history and embarrassing data after you’re dead.”