5 spooky Halloween campaigns to get inspired by

5 spooky Halloween campaigns to get inspired by

Halloween is almost here: pumpkin spice is back on the menu, Home Depot’s 9-foot skeleton is back on the shelves, and Spirit Halloweens are sprouting up across the country.

While it may be tempting to focus solely on Black Friday and Cyber Monday preparations, there’s no reason you can’t launch a Halloween campaign to capitalize on buyers’ love of the event.

Here are five terrifying Halloween campaigns to get you in the Halloween spirit.

1. Huluween on Hulu.

One of the finest ways to spend Halloween is to watch a scary or not-so-scary TV show or movies, such as Scream or Hocus Pocus. Huluween is Hulu’s aptly named portal with all the Halloween entertainment you’ll need to get through October.

Hulu decided to boost the ante for Huluween 2020 by launching a full-fledged experiential campaign that went far beyond on-screen entertainment. They devised the Huluween Drive-in Theater, a four-night event in which attendees drove through a haunted forest (complete with jump scares by iconic characters) and then sat in their cars to watch scary movies (including new Hulu originals).

The takeaway: Do you have some spare money in your budget? Consider going beyond a digital campaign and into experiential marketing, such as an in-store activation or a virtual murder mystery (of course, with a link back to your company!).

2. Tasty Human Cat Treats from Temptations.

Would cats eat people if they were bigger? That’s the question Temptations set out to answer with its Halloween campaign, which included limited edition Tasty Human flavored cat snacks. (In case you’re wondering, the flavors were chicken, liver, and beef.)

Temptations had to launch an equally eerie marketing to promote this terrifying snack. The ads are (as predicted) amusing, and they encourage cat parents to treat – or possibly trick – their furry pets for Halloween.

The takeaway: Halloween is a fun holiday, therefore don’t be scared to come up with an outlandish product or commercial ideas! Clever marketing is one of the best methods to capture attention, and believe us when we say that “all out” ideas will get customers talking.

3. Crest’s #BringOnTheCandySafes

Everyone enjoys Halloween candy, but what about cavities? Not at all. Crest toothpaste brand, unsurprisingly, had the perfect angle for a Halloween commercial in 2021: protect your candy and teeth.

Customers were asked to enter a raffle for a limited edition Candy Safe, which would allow kids to safely hide their candy stash from their devious parents. The conditions were similarly simple: participants merely had to use the hashtag #BringOnTheCandy to describe on Instagram why they wanted a Candy Safe and why their family loves Crest.

The takeaway: You don’t have to be a conventionally “scary” brand to celebrate Halloween; it’s all about coming up with innovative methods to connect the event to your brand and products. Hashtag campaigns are another excellent approach to increasing participation.

4. Trick or Treat Jars from Marmite

Marmite is either disliked or adored. (This is their brand tagline.) As a result, they created two limited edition Halloween-themed items a few years ago: the Trick jar (“poison for haters”) and the Treat jar (“potion for lovers”). The jars were must-have memorabilia for Marmite aficionados and made ideal gifts despite the minor design change.

The takeaway: If you’re struggling to come up with a creative Halloween marketing headline, consider exploring punny interpretations of your company motto.

5. Turn Yourself In Competition by Butterfinger

Is there a more horrible crime than parents stealing their children’s Halloween candy? We’ve all seen Jimmy Kimmel’s annual “I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy” video collections, which is why Butterfinger decided to join the craze.

The candy company’s Turn Yourself In campaign encouraged parents who stole their children’s Halloween Butterfingers to publish their mugshots. What do you get for confessing and contributing to the Butterfinger Case Files? $25,000!

The takeaway: Make sure you know exactly who your campaign’s target audience is, whether it’s trick-or-treaters or their guilt-ridden parents. Furthermore, linking your campaign to current trends or viral events is a terrific method to ensure its relevance.

No Tricks, Only Treats

Ready to launch your own seasonal marketing (spooky or festive) in Q4? Please see the links below for our holiday marketing and advertising guides!

Learn how we can help you launch, optimize, and report on your holiday ads all from a single platform.