In honor of spooky season, we’ve compiled some fun Halloween-themed ads for a new edition of Ad Corner. They’re not too spooky, but feel free to grab a teddy bear or turn on some extra lights before continuing. Here are 5 Halloween ads to give you a jump (or a laugh):
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — It’s Reese’s Season
This is a new ad from 2023, and okay, it’s not really scary. It is fun though! Between the dancing skeletons and the funky music, Reese’s is leaving a big impression on viewers.
Reese’s is capitalizing on two current trends with this ad. The first trend is TikTok dances. Although the app has diversified its content in the past few years, dancing is still a popular feature. The second trend is skeletons. Over the last few Halloween seasons, more and more people have begun decorating their houses and yards with life sized—and larger-than-life sized—skeletons. By combining dancing and skeletons in this commercial, Reese’s has created a fun, entertaining ad that feels timely.
2. Airheads — Chainsaw
This ad is also from the 2023 Halloween season. In it, Airheads utilizes a classic horror movie trope—a young woman screaming and a man in a mask with a chainsaw—but they put a fun twist on it.
This ad was created to run on streaming platforms, like YouTube, that have built in skip features. By making a funny ad that changes up the expected storyline, Airheads catches viewers by surprise and gives them a good laugh along the way. They also keep the ad short, making it easy for viewers to do what the ad suggests and watch the whole thing instead of skipping it.
3. GEICO — Horror Movie Stereotypes
We’ve covered GEICO in a previous Ad Corner, but this time we’re looking at a specific commercial. This 2015 ad is another ad that plays on horror movie stereotypes. Instead of taking a left turn like Airheads, GEICO uses those stereotypes to their advantage. This ad is part of two larger campaigns: “It’s What You Do” and “GEICOween.”
GEICO pokes fun at horror movies by pointing out the kinds of things we often see as viewers, making this ad feel funny and relatable. They also turn it around to focus on insurance by pointing out that, while you might not make great decisions in a horror movie, you can make great decisions outside of one. They position themselves as one of those great decisions.
4. Snickers — Grocery Store Lady
In what is probably our first truly creepy Halloween ad on this list, we see a strange scene play out in a grocery store. The ad ends on a humorous note when it’s revealed that the large, uncomfortable-looking woman who’s stocking Mrs. Jensen’s cart with Snickers, is actually a few children sitting on each other’s shoulders.
Unsurprisingly, there are a few candy companies on this list. And, it was hard to pick between Snickers ads because they’ve made several fun ones for Halloween over the years (Honorable Mention: The Horseless Headsman). This ad works because it’s so funny. Between the mask, the clearly disguised voice, and the odd movements of the grocery store lady, things are set up perfectly to be scary. When the reveal happens, viewers can breathe a sigh of relief and chuckle at the rather enterprising children who apparently really want some Snickers while Trick-or-Treating.
5. Burger King — Scary Clown Night
*Contains strobing lights*
To wrap up, we have a legitimately scary Halloween ad from Burger King. In 2017, Burger King ran a Halloween campaign at certain locations, giving free Whoppers to anyone dressed as a clown.
Like we saw with the dancing skeletons from Reese’s, Burger King is playing off of some big pop culture moments. The new version of Stephen King’s IT was just released in September of 2017, and the second season Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things was making its premier right around the same time. Their “Scary Clown Night” ad utilizes similar filming techniques as Stranger Things season 1 and picks up the scary clown motif from IT, while using those scary clowns to take a shot at one of their biggest competitors—McDonald’s. While the ad itself is admittedly a little creepy, there is some humor infused in it when the main clown (a clear riff off of Ronald McDonald) states that he wants a Whopper.
Marketing doesn’t have to be scary.
If you’re marketing your small business, there’s no need to fear! Bold River Marketing can help you create funny, memorable, or timely ads to promote your business. Call us today to get started.