Spotify Horror
By: Luke Weber
Despite ongoing divisiveness in 2018, Halloween’s spectre succeeds in bringing the country together as it does every year. The campy national phenomenon garners more and more anticipation in every aspect of American culture, from food to entertainment. (Fun fact: the fourth sequel to the hit horror classic “Halloween” is projected for $50-$85 million opening weekend.)
In the advertising industry we are reminded how the fanaticism around Halloween continues to grow every year, and 2018 is no exception. Using Halloween as a platform for fall marketing campaigns is nothing new, but each year presents new trends and creative ways for brands capitalize on America’s scariest holiday. 2018’s Halloween advertising trend is parodying traditional horror as the horror genre dominates the current box office. Check out some of the best Halloween ads of the year so far:
The first Halloween-esque ad of 2018 was Spotify’s “Horror” ad from June. Creating a mock clip of horror films to promote their “killer” songs, the ad was intended to be a “tongue-in-cheek horror parody,” but was just ruled too spooky for children by a British advertising watchdog group on October 17th.
Earlier this week, Farmers joined in on the fun with their “Cardio of the Dead” ad, creating a parody of zombie horror that features a zombie working out while discussing life insurance.
Burger King put an original spin on their Halloween offerings by crafting the “Nightmare King”, a burger loaded with beef, chicken, bacon and melted cheese. The fast food chain ran a clinical study that “proves the Nightmare King increases your chances of having nightmares by 3.5 times,” perhaps making the spot the biggest parody of them all, given how thorough and deep the 2 minute advertisement becomes.
LG asks “What’s It Gonna Take?” in their cute :30 Halloween spot for the V40 ThinQ camera phone. After a wandering zombie stumbles upon a romance movie poster featuring a familiar face, he recognizes its human actress as a now-undead femme fatale, and zombie love quickly blossoms. It might take an apocalypse, but these two sentient creatures can now cherish forever together–so long as they stay intact.
As Halloween approaches, be on the watch for more brands to drop ads taking advantage of the craze surrounding the spooky holiday in funny ways. Parodies are turning into big business for large brands as the growth of excitement for Halloween in America shows no signs of stopping.