AMC's 'The Walking Dead' pranks New York City pedestrians with zombie scare

AMC probably does not need to do anything to hype the return of the most watched show on cable, The Walking Dead, when it returns on Sunday night. But they decided to do some marketing anyway, and what a great campaign it was.

AMC capitalized on the viral marketing trend and set up a prank in New York City's Union Square in which people dressed and made up as zombies from the show were inside a sewer grate, from where they scared the bejesus out of unsuspecting passersby on their ways to work, school or wherever. According to EW.com, all of the victims were regular people and not actors.

Check out the video below and laugh along with us:

This is the latest in a line of Hollywood viral marketing tricks to drum up enthusiasm for various projects. Back in October, the producers of Carrie set up a telekinesis prank in a coffee shop, and that video now has nearly 54 million views on YouTube. In January, those behind Devil's Due designed an animatronic possessed baby in a remote-controlled stroller to roll around and send people running in the other direction. That video has more than 41 million YouTube views.

But it's not just horror movies and shows getting in on the fun, as LG pulled a prank on some job applicants in Chile in September by setting up a "window" of their building, but the window was just an 82-inch screen that showed an apocalyptic meteor shower outside.

What do you think, fans? Is this a clever bit of marketing by AMC, or just a bit too much? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.