Because vampires are all the rage right now, HBO is getting in on the act with its new fall series True Blood. It's show about a group of vampires living in modern society, and they will probably address all those questions about silver bullets, crosses, and daylight. But what makes the show worth even being interested in, of course, is the marketing leading up to it. HBO's main gimmick for the show is Tru Blood, an "energy drink" made of your favorite O or AB- platelets. Perhaps you've seen advertisements for it on billboards or websites like ours. There's also the website BloodCopy.com, a faux news blog for all things vampires. And some tube of synthetic blood that will likely appear in the mailboxes of television critics.

Which is all well and good, but when it comes to marketing a show about bloodsports, HBO's True Blood has a worth adversary.

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