Halloween is a great time for everyone to get into character – even businesses. Since the beginning of marketing and advertising, companies have used the holiday to show that they can have fun, they are relevant to the season, and they are easily relatable.
This year, Americans are projected to spend upwards of $9 billion dollars on Halloween candy, decorations and costumes. While this spooky day doesn’t require gifts or clearance sales, it’s a great time for advertisers to at least run brand awareness campaigns. Take advantage of having your business’ name associated with this extravagant spending holiday and reap the benefits later in the season.
Watch how these 8 brands get the cauldron boiling with creative Halloween commercials, advertisements and promotions.
SNICKERS – “HORSELESS HEADSMAN”
Following the theme of their slogan “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” Snickers flips the script when they spoof a classic Halloween character, the Headless Horseman.
RICE KRISPIES – “SCARES TRICK OR TREAT”
This Rice Krispies Halloween commercial pranks customers with a vending machine offering free Rice Krispies treats with a scary twist. The caught-on-camera style ad spooks viewers and passers-by alike as a hand comes out of the machine once a button is pressed, eventually offering them the treat.
LG – “SO REAL IT’S SCARY”
Halloween is not just a time for spooky costumes and delicious candy, but also for heart-stopping pranks. LG achieves the latter when they install their 2012’s latest screens into the bottom of an elevator. Once passengers enter the elevator, they are in for a surprise, as the bottom of the room seems to fall away into an open pit.
BOOKING.COM – “STAY IF YOU DARE”
Booking.com makes Halloween a complete experience for daring souls, advertising their offers to book haunted hotels during the season. Piggybacking off of the mid-2010’s popular Paranormal Activity series, this Halloween commercial is sure to give you a thrill.
PETCO – “MAKE A SCENE” PHOTO CONTEST
Humans aren’t the only ones who dress up in costumes on Halloween. Thousands of furry friends and their owners participate in Petco’s “Make A Scene” Photo Contest each year on Instagram using #PetcoHalloweenContest. The contest not only makes for cute pictures on your feed, but notably spreads brand awareness for Petco.
CHIPOTLE’S BOORITOS
Chipotle is back with their annual October promotion, Boorito. Customers can receive a burrito for $4 on Oct. 31 after 3 p.m. if they visit their local Chipotle location dressed in their Halloween costume. Participants also have a chance to win free burritos for a year when they enter Chipotle’s Instagram contest by 1 a.m. on Nov. 1. This is not the first time Chipotle has given away discounted meals to its customers, although this time it’s not to coax them back after a PR-destroying food-borne illness scandal.
REI – ZOMBIE PREPAREDNESS CLASS
You can never be too prepared, that’s for sure. Outdoor clothing and equipment store REI has put a hilarious, marketable spin on the spooky idea of a zombie apocalypse. In this free preparedness training class, participants will learn “valuable survival techniques that could save your life.” REI is also able to market their products to students as they learn lessons that could actually help them in the case of a natural disaster.
REESE’S – “HALLOWEEN TRICK”
The “trick” to good Halloween marketing is knowing what your customers want. And the customers clearly want Reese’s (number 4). As one of the foundational candies of the holiday, the brand’s Halloween commercials serve as an exciting reminder to customers that it’s time to buy the chocolate-peanut butter cups in bulk.
