Halloween is upon us! While it may be a spooky holiday associated with jump-scares and eery characters, it is also festive period celebrated and enjoyed by many. It is therefore a prime opportunity for brands and agencies to release ad campaigns that intrigue consumers and capitalise on a commercialised holiday.
In the last few months several brands have shared some creative and captivating advertisements. Everyone is familiar with the tropes of Halloween, so cutting through the noise and standing out among the rest has proven to be key for advertisers this year.
Marketing Beat takes a look at five of the best Halloween campaigns released in 2022.
Social Mobility Foundation horror film trailer tackles workplace classism
Earlier this week, the Social Mobility Foundation’s Department for Opportunities launched a campaign to raise awareness of classism in the workplace.
Partnering with Creature London, the foundation created a short horror film trailer to encourage employers to measure, report and close the class pay gap.
The ‘Stay Down’ film is set in a typical corporate office and sees the working class protagonist, Michael Socha, battle against subversive discrimination.
The spot, directed by Thomas James and produced by OB management, dramatises the ‘insidious unseen nature of classism’ as a sinister presence. The hero’s boss is an elitist that physically and mentally wears the working-class colleague down while strangely sparing others around him from his judgment.
The trailer aired in cinemas across the UK and was supported by film posters on digital out-of-home (DOOH).
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that the barriers faced by people from a working-class background are horrifying. With this campaign we’re not just pastiching the horror film genre, we’re dramatising people’s actual reality: and it’s a reality that has never been more damaging, and unacceptable,” Creature London chief creative officer, Stu Outhwaite-Noel, said.
Lottie London accepts blood donation as payment for its Vampire Diaries collection
Back in September, Lottie London collaborated with Warner Bros. to launch a Vampire Diaries make-up collection for the Love Sucks range.
The campaign, made specifically for the commercial run-up to Halloween, highlighted the fact that the brand accepted blood donation as payment for the exclusive products.
Lottie London created the ‘Blood for Beauty’ campaign in response to UK blood banks experiencing a national shortage.
According to a NHS report, one million more blood donors are needed in the next five years to ensure patients receive the right type of blood to save and improve their lives, with a particular need for Black African, Black Caribbean and younger donors. The make-up brand saw these statistics as an opportunity to encourage its ‘core’ Generation Z demographic to ‘take action’.
“Since blood donations are urgently needed to help the blood banks who are experiencing a national shortage, Lottie London has announced a way to help solve that problem – giving away products for your blood.” Lottie London said.
Makeup fans were urged to share proof of the blood donations on social media sites TikTok and Instagram as part of the campaign.
M&M’s playful Halloween spot that encourages self-expression
At the beginning of this month, confectionery brand M&M’s unveiled a Halloween campaign that encouraged people to celebrate the holiday in their own unique way.
Centred around the tagline ‘For However You Halloween’, the campaign marked the Mars-owned brand’s first ad project since its relaunch earlier this year, with the creative handled by London agency The&Partnership.
Spearheading the promotional push is a playful 15-second spot featuring a cast of CGI M&Ms engaging in a series of Halloween-related activities.
“The new brand direction really lets us begin to show more of each characters’ unique personality,” The&Partnership creative director, Jim Stump said.
“Halloween’s a fun start and from here on we can let different characters turn up in response to different moments throughout the rest of the year too.”
Global assets rolled out across online video, social media, press, radio and audio.
Mars Wrigley brand content and communications architect, Chris Brody added: “Halloween is a key season for consumers as they come together to celebrate both old and new traditions, so it was important that we utilised our iconic characters to encourage people to feel confident being their true selves and connecting with one another through shared experiences and the power of fun.”
Fruit-tella’s Amazon Alexa campaign ‘Halloween Hotel’
Two months ago Fruit-tella teamed up with creative agency Wavemaker to create an Amazon Alexa interactive audio campaign titled ‘Halloween Hotel’.
In the run-up to Halloween, the skill game provided a daily countdown of content, with exclusive tricks, spooky stories, interactive games, jokes and special prizes all made available via voice activation. All Amazon Alexa users had to do was say: “Alexa, open Halloween Hotel.”
The Wavemaker-created campaign wished to celebrate the spooky holiday in conjunction with the traditional consumption of sweets.
Brand owners Perfetti Van Melle said at the time that a third (30%) of shoppers were planning to shop for themed-lines eight weeks before Halloween.
“Halloween is one of the most iconic holidays to celebrate – if you aren’t excited in advance, you simply aren’t taking full advantage of the season,” Perfetti Van Melle brand manager for Fruit-tella, Lauren Potter, said.
“Our Fruit-tella “Halloween Hotel” campaign will help families across the country to celebrate the spooky season the way it was supposed to be enjoyed – plenty of scares, laughs, and of course, treats!”
Stranger Bling! Papa Johns’ garlic sauce necklace
Last week Papa Johns launched a Halloween-themed marketing campaign that included a bespoke garlic sauce necklace.
The campaign saw the pizza chain pay homage to its eighties horror film parody series Jack!, with the launch of its first-ever piece of jewellery.
Inspired by cult horror classics and based on the brand’s Special Garlic Dipping sauce, the necklace was said to harness the mythical power of garlic to protect the wearer against vampires and ‘Halloween pizzas’.
The Gothic ‘Stranger Bling’ necklace is forged in oxidised 925 sterling silver – a metal believed to repel vampires and werewolves – and is hinged to replicate the opening and closing of a real sauce pot.
Produced by film agency Glacé Media, the accompanying film featured dramatic cues that mimicked scenes from the likes of John Carpenter and The Evil Dead.
“This year, we’re paying homage to cult horror classics and serving up nostalgia with our latest Halloween-themed marketing campaign. As well as bringing back our iconic Jack! series, we’re excited to offer fans a one-of-a-kind keepsake which celebrates our legendary Special Garlic Dipping Sauce,” Papa Johns director of international marketing EMENA, Lawrence Felice, said.
The exclusive pendant is available to buy direct from the maker, Black Feather Design, for £100.
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