As Halloween creeps up around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get your creative juices flowing and build a campaign around the ~spooky~ holiday. Keep in mind that you definitely do not have to create campaign based on fear to celebrate Halloween - many brands in the past have figured out how to use humor and wit to pull off their ads successfully. Check out some of our favorites here:
Burger King
Burger King has pulled some very interesting stunts during Halloween time. In the past, they’ve been known for their notorious tricks against their rival, McDonald’s; they’ve offered free burgers to customers who dress up as clowns (a jab at Ronald McDonald), and they’ve even decorated their storefront as a ghost with “McDonald’s” written on it! This year, they have added the “nightmare king” burger to their menu; a burger with green-colored buns that apparently increase the chance of having nightmares by 3.5x (yikes!). This is a great marketing tactic! Whether customers choose to eat the nightmare king or not, this stunt will definitely energize some social media buzz.
Wonderful Halo's
We have to applaud the creative team behind Wonderful Halo’s Halloween ad. They took their infamous “Good choice, kid” campaign and went a slightly different path for the month of October. The video speaks for itself, so we’ll just leave it here for you to watch:
Who know advertising mandarins could be so creepy?
Pepsi
Pepsi and Coke are arguably the biggest rivals in the game. For decades, they have to tried to outdo each other with marketing campaigns and influencers. In 2013, Pepsi created the ad above; a Pepsi can wearing a scary Cola Coca (letters were switched to prevent legal issues) costume. This was a very witty tactic to generate some buzz and create some brand awareness all in the spirit of Halloween. Although, Coca-Cola fans weren’t too impressed. After the brand became viral on social media, some loyal Coca-Cola fan created this ad as a response:
State Farm
In 2016, State Farm ran a “Scary Right” campaign that focused on two commercials, “Chase” and “Jumper.” Both campaigns start with “scary movie” vibes with a spooky storyline that is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. It isn’t until the end when a State Farm representative jumps into frame ready to help. This was the perfect campaign for Halloween! Not only was it consistent with their tagline “Here to help,” it also played into the perfect amount of fear and humor.