Aside from Christmas, Halloween is one of the largest commercial holidays nationwide. Each year, consumers spend upwards of $10 billion for the holiday. And so, it’s no surprise companies are willing to drop large amounts of money to get their products in front of people.
Looking back on Halloween campaigns throughout the years, here’s what has worked for companies in the past:
Do the Unexpected
Would you expect lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart to team up with the canned water brand Liquid Death? Well, they did.
This year, Stewart and Liquid Death worked to create the Dismembered Moments Luxury Candle, a $58 wax candle of a hand clutching a Liquid Death can. In a video promoting the candle, Stewart’s calm and kind demeanor is juxtaposed with heavy metal music and gore.
This unexpected campaign surely surprised audiences and made the product undoubtedly more memorable than it would’ve otherwise been.
Do the Expected (with a twist!)
If there’s one thing we all know about Vampires, it’s that they hate garlic. Yet, Papa John’s Stranger Bling Garlic Talisman is a funny, fresh twist on this classic belief. Created to immortalize Papa Johns’ iconic Special Garlic Dipping Sauce, the talisman is inspired by the Jack! film series, in which a possessed pizza is defeated by the powers of a Special Garlic Dipping Sauce and pizza delivery guy, Bruce.
While playing on existing clichés, Papa John’s provided audiences with a humorous twist that feels authentic to the brand.
Use Humor
Notice a trend in this list? Humor.
Halloween is a great time to leave the stuffiness behind and embrace humor. And there’s plenty of seasonal humor companies can work with.
In 2021, Heinz launched a special edition Tomato “Blood” Ketchup, costume kit, and the brand’s first Halloween store. Humorously toying with the notion that ketchup can look like blood in pranks, Heinz used the slogan “If you have Heinz, you have a costume” for Halloween.
By remaining humorous about the use of Ketchup, Heinz was able to garner attention for its admittedly untimely product.
Laila Samphilipo, Account Executive
prowlpr.com 