14 Halloween Marketing Campaigns That’ll Leave You Eerily Inspired
It’s the spookiest time of the year—Halloween! Agencies working with brands (and companies themselves) are getting more and more clever with their campaigns every year.
Whether they partner with another company to attract earned media or create a clever name (like boorito!) to maximize sales, we’ve seen it all and still every year we’re spooked by how inspiring they can be. Here are some top picks of the patch.
Temptations: Scaredy Cat
Temptations, the wickedly popular cat treat company, kicked off Halloween with an entire scary movie for, you guessed it—your cat, to advertise their new catnip. It’ll be sure to send chills through your feline friends’ body.
Burger King: #ScaryClownNight
We all know the age-old feud between McDonald’s and Burger King and this time BK took it to another level. 2017 was also the year the movie “It” came out so they used that to their advantage. Anyone that dressed up as a clown and came into a Burger King in certain states could get a free Whopper sandwich. Talk about taking your fears to the next level.
Strange Mode: Lyft x Stranger Things
The popular Netflix show, “Stranger Things” partnered with the ever-popular riding service, Lyft, to bring this campaign to life: Strange Mode. Let’s just say they created a unique and spooky experience for riders in Los Angeles and Philadelphia (and it was one they’ll never forget).
SVEDKA: Halloween Curse
Svedka tapped into their evil and mocking side with this ad campaign. Everyone has ad fatigue and they played into that idea with their own ad. They kick off the video with, “By watching this, you’re now cursed” and the only way to break the curse? Send it to a friend (or enemy?) and pass it on.
Spookermarket: Tesco Halloween
Tesco, a popular supermarket in Europe, really brought the screams this Halloween. Shoppers going about their normal shopping found a scary surprise or two in Tesco spookermarkets! From clowns to a head on a plate, they took Halloween to a new level.
Frightening Fanta
Fanta brought their creative bone with this campaign. All Fanta cans and bottles received the ultimate fright-night makeover with ghoulish graphics to mark the spookiest time of the year. The best part? Each can had a unique QR code which gave the drinker exclusive Snapchat filters and lenses.
Netflix & Chills
We’ve all heard the term “Netflix and chill” (and if not, we recommend a quick Urban Dictionary search) and Netflix used this term to their advantage. They used this simple yet effective campaign to showcase their most chilling shows like The Haunting of Hill House and scary movies like 1922 to remind viewers who has the best scary movies, hands down.
M&M’S Halloween: Ghosted
Everyone knows M&M’S normal campaign story—it always involves something around the M&M’S being eaten (or not). For this campaign, they just added a dash of spookiness to keep that trend going. Spoiler alert: The yellow M&M didn’t get so lucky this time around.
BACARDÍ Presents: The Zombie
Whether you’re a Bacardi drinker or not, you’re sure to have some respect for this Halloween campaign featuring The Zombie—a refreshing cocktail that’s sure to send chills down your spine. This spooktacular stop motion creative is out of this world.
Miller Lite: Halloween
Just because Miller Lite took a more traditional approach with their campaign (gotta love print ads), that doesn’t make this campaign any less amazing. The catchphrase for this campaign? Sink your fangs into great taste!
Guinness: Halloween Shadows
Guinness kept it nice and simple with this Halloween marketing campaign. Using their existing brand colors (black and white), they simply played off the idea of ghosts and goblins for special edition coasters. These ghoulish coasters were offered for every Guinness beer bought on Halloween night which resulted in booming sales for the night and everybody took home their scary-shadows coasters.
SNICKERS: Horseless Headsman
We’ve all heard of the headless horseman and Snickers added a dash of whimsy to create something entirely new—the horseless headsman. They even managed to squeeze in the classic line, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
Chipotle: Boorito
In years past, Chipotle created a boo-tifully funny Halloween pun by using what they already had—burritos. This campaign encouraged customers to come in wearing a costume on or near Halloween during a certain time frame to get a $4 burrito. What a fa-boo-lous idea, don’t you think?
Westlake Ace Hardware: Zombie News Report
When you think of spooky Halloween marketing campaigns, I doubt a hardware store comes to mind, but Westlake Ace Hardware upped their game. This campaign is centered around a news report saying that Westlake Ace Hardware was awarded a certification as a “zombie friendly business” with every tool you would ever need for a zombie apocalypse. While it’s no Walking Dead, it’ll be sure to carve a laugh or two out of you.
Conclusion
You have all the inspiration so now it’s time to figure out how to apply it to your business or client. Just remember: go big or gourd home!
