Hauntingly Good - Favorite Halloween Campaigns & Costumes This Year

Trick or treat? We say commercial extravaganza.

Not so long ago, Halloween was a celebration happening on the day before the Christian All Saints’ Day, remembering the dead, when kids would dress up in scary costumes and go from house to house asking for candy. It still is. But in the last decade, it has turned into a true creativity competition where some of the biggest brands jump on the train to ghost town and try to be as memorable as it gets.

And it’s not just for fun, of course. It is estimated that this year the total American spending for Halloween was $12.2 billion, and a whopping 73% of Americans have celebrated it. Quite a nice target audience to tap into.

This year we’ve taken a look at a couple of interesting campaigns by different brands, the question is - who has left the biggest impact on the online community out of them?

Lush

Lush released a complete Halloween collection, starting with a sneak-peak of some of the new products on Instagram, featuring an eerie-looking shimmer bar, a pumpkin bubble bar, and plenty of bath bombs. To add up to the hype, they added a Trick or Treat activation. After their shopping, every customer who purchased something received a note on their receipt with ‘Trick’ or ‘Treat’ that was randomly selected on the till system! If customers won a ‘Treat’, they got one of 10,000 prizes Lush prepared for the occasion.?

Heinz

Using ketchup as a budget-friendly substitute for fake blood has been a long-standing tradition among DIY costume enthusiasts. Heinz is now embracing this quirky trend by rebranding their ketchup bottles as "tomato blood" since Halloween season 2021.?

Fanta

Fanta had a spooktacular on-pack promotion offering its biggest pool of epic prizes and scary surprises yet. The campaign was aimed at retailers tapping into the growing demand for soft drinks at Halloween. From 11th September to 7th November, shoppers are invited to scan QR codes on limited edition packs of Fanta, which will take them to an app to play a Halloween game and then find out instantly whether they’ve won an epic prize from Fanta’s biggest-ever ￡70k prize pool – or a scary surprise.

M&Ms

M&Ms recognize that the holiday season is a prime opportunity to promote their product. To make a mark, they need to think of creative and distinctive ways to present it. About 55% of TikTok users are interested in sweets and chocolate content, which makes TikTok a promising platform for M&Ms. However, the crucial part is not getting lost among the numerous other chocolate-related posts.?

So, they partnered with multiple influencers for creative content. @sarahinoue dedicated time to design a bag for her M&Ms, painting it with care, and giving it a Halloween-themed touch. They also teamed up with musical theatre actor and content creator @jjniemann. He showcased his Halloween setup with the product in hand and the caption, "Getting ready to host a spooky movie night the moment there is a chill in the air." With @sarahinoue's video reaching 4.7 million views and @jjniemann reaching 9.2 million views, it's clear that this content is effective.

Rimmel

With #halloweenmakeup reaching 11.8 billion views on the app, it’s clear why beauty brands need to be making themselves visible on TikTok.? 78% of TikTok users have purchased a product after watching TikTok creator content on it, and ads with creators on TikTok drove a 26% increase in brand favourability among social/video platform users.?

Rimmel London recognized the influence of social media creators and appreciated their creativity. By allowing each partner to craft their makeup tutorials without strict scripts, they could express their true personalities. This authenticity resonates with their followers and leads to more authentic connections, creating a successful partnership.

Now, let's take a look at how much attention each of these brands got online during Halloween in comparison to each other.?

This share of voice chart shows us a clear picture how well Lush, Heinz, Fanta, M&Ms and Rimmel did in terms of getting noticed. It tells us which brands caught the most interest from their target audiences and created the most online chatter. In this case, M&Ms and Lush are the ones killing it.

Additionally, as we explore how these brands performed during Halloween, let's not forget the buzz surrounding the most talked-about Halloween costumes of the year. Halloween is a time when people get creative with their outfits, and this year was no exception. From classic spooky characters to trending pop culture icons, Halloween enthusiasts brought their A-game in costume creation.?

Absolutely, the classics like ghost and witch costumes remain crowd favorites, but there are always some newcomers stealing the Halloween spotlight. This year, costumes inspired by pop culture icons like Barbie and Taylor Swift have made a significant entrance. It's no shocker given the immense fame and attention these figures garnered in the past year.?

Honorary mention

Let’s not forget the queen of Halloween: Heidi Klum and her 2023 costume: a giant peacock joined by an flock of feathered friends.

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*All metric screenshots are taken directly from Determ, a media monitoring tool. If you want to know more how Determ works, book a demo call with one of our experts.