Day of the Tread
Clarks x Fiend Present the Ultimate Apocalypse Experience
What happens when you mix premium footwear with the end of the world? Day of the Tread—an adrenaline-fueled, heart-stopping event that turned shoe shopping into a fight for survival. In partnership with Clarks Shoes, we didn’t just create an event; we unleashed an apocalypse, Dawn of the Dead-style.
Run for Your Life - A ‘70s Horror Come to Life | Inspired by the eerie, desolate world of Dawn of the Dead, guests laced up their Clarks and stepped straight into a ‘70s apocalypse. The setting was pure cinematic terror—flickering neon, abandoned storefronts, blood-smeared mannequins, and the distant sound of static-filled emergency broadcasts. Shadows moved just beyond sight, and before long, the horror became real. Their mission? Escape through a labyrinth of derelict streets and crumbling warehouses while being hunted by terrifyingly real zombies. The only hope? Reaching the rooftop of the Hudsucker Building, where a chopper was rumored to be waiting. But survival was anything but certain.
Horror Crafted by a Mastermind | This wasn’t just another haunted house—it was a descent into pure nightmare fuel. The terror was designed by Jan Vladek, the avant-garde director behind the banned ‘80s cult classic Zombie Blood Feast – Armageddon, a film so disturbing it was pulled from cinemas after a wave of copycat crimes. Vladek spent six weeks training his undead horde to do more than just shuffle. These zombies lurked. They sprinted. They hunted. One survivor confessed, “I’ve never run so fast in my life—I actually thought I was going to die.”
Celebrity Zombies & The Ultimate Prize Hunt | Each night, the apocalypse had a new surprise: celebrity zombies. On different days, special guests—disguised under gruesome prosthetics and eerie ‘70s horror makeup—joined the undead ranks. If a player was “caught” by one of them, they weren’t just doomed—they won exclusive prizes, from limited-edition Clarks to VIP event access. Some contestants even took intentional falls, hoping to get their hands on rare collectibles.
A Rooftop Revelation—Where Fear Met Funk | Those who made it to the rooftop didn’t find a chopper. Instead, they stumbled into a surreal, Dawn of the Dead-inspired nightmare. Zombie waiters served blood-red cocktails, the dance floor throbbed with eerie disco remixes, and guests found themselves partying alongside the undead. The entire event was captured on old-school film negatives, giving the photos a grainy, vintage horror feel. To complete the experience, guests downloaded the Day of the Tread ‘70s filter app, transforming their own shots into something straight out of a lost grindhouse horror flick.
One shaken participant revealed, “I was actually bitten on the leg. I don’t even know how it happened. One second, I was running, the next… I felt teeth sink in.”
Blurring the line between fear and fun, Day of the Tread wasn’t just an event—it was an apocalyptic experience ripped straight from a ‘70s horror reel.
Unfiltered Reactions
“I was actually bitten on the leg,” one shaken participant revealed. “I don’t even know how it happened. One second, I was running, the next… I felt teeth sink in.
“I saw a guy actually faint. Just went down like a sack of bricks. His body just gave up. The fear in that room was contagious. You could feel it—people were losing it.”
“The zombies… they were relentless. They sprinted at us, screaming like they wanted to actually eat us. It was total chaos. It was so intense, I completely forget it was just an event.”
“I’ve never felt anything like that. My legs were burning, my chest was tight, and I was running like my life depended on it—in a pair of Clarks. I thought I was going to collapse, but somehow, those shoes kept me moving. It felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, and the only thing keeping me going was the adrenaline and those damn shoes.”
- 1000+ attendees over three nights,
- #DayOfTheTread dominated social media, amassing 400,000 impressions.
- Clarks saw a 50% increase in social media engagement.
- Over 4000 user-generated videos flooded TikTok and Instagram, capturing everything from blood-curdling screams to rooftop celebrations.