No tricks, just treats: How brands got spooky this Halloween

Every October, brands dust off the cobwebs, dim the lights and embrace the strange. Halloween has become an annual playground for marketers, giving brands an excuse to step outside their usual playbooks and have a little fun with the fright.

This year was no different. From eerie storytelling and unexpected twists to playful scares and plenty of dark humour, brands found new ways to tap into the spooky season while keeping their identities firmly intact.

Some made us laugh, others gave us the creeps, and a few managed to do both. With Halloween just around the corner, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE looks back at some of our favourite campaigns that got into the spirit of the season.

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1. Fanta

Fanta is moving from horror collaborator to creator this Halloween, launching an original entertainment universe populated by characters inspired by classic horror archetypes.

Dubbed "Fanta's haunted universe", the new platform introduces four original characters inspired by vampires, werewolves, supernatural spirits and futuristic horror, each with its own identity, personality, backstory and supernatural abilities.

Read more here. 

2. Hay Day

Supercell’s mobile farming game Hay Day is looking beyond the living for its latest players, putting the paranormal to the test in a Halloween campaign that asks whether ghosts can game too.

Created with creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors, the campaign sees Hay Day travel to Cogges Manor Farm in Oxfordshire, UK, where paranormal investigator and Most Haunted host Yvette Fielding conducted a séance in an attempt to make contact with the farm’s resident ghost.

Read more here. 

3. Mediacorp 987

Mediacorp 987 is taking its Halloween programming beyond the airwaves with a radio-themed escape room that puts listeners inside a hijacked station.

Titled “Mediacorp 987’s signal hijacked: The purge protocol”, the immersive experience was created in collaboration with Xcape Singapore. It is billed as Singapore’s first radio-themed escape room and forms part of the station’s efforts to bring its personalities and content into a physical experience.

Read more here. 

4. Sunway Lagoon

Sunway Lagoon is leaning on horror IP, Asian pop culture and creator-led content to keep its Nights of Fright (NOF) festival fresh after 12 years.

The annual scare fest is returning for its 12th edition with “APE-OCALYPSE”at Sunway Lagoon in Subang Jaya. But behind the apocalyptic theme is a broader marketing strategy centred on giving audiences a new reason to return each year, while making the festival increasingly content-driven and shareable.

Read more here. 

5. Zouk 

Zouk is turning childhood nostalgia on its head this Halloween, transforming its newly renovated complex into a playground of forgotten toys, warped childhood favourites and immersive worlds.

Running across 30 and 31 October, "PLAY DEAD" marks Zouk's first Halloween weekend since its full relaunch and will span four of its venues, each reimagined as a different world inspired by abandoned toys and childhood memories.

Read more here. 

Trick, treat or trendjack?

Halloween fun also spilled onto social media this year, with brands getting into the spooky spirit through playful references and their own takes on trending formats.

From clever twists on familiar memes to posts that simply understood the assignment, here are some of the Halloween trendjacks that caught MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s eye.

1. Axe

Axe put a darkly playful spin on Halloween decorating, sharing an Instagram post featuring a body-shaped silhouette surrounded by cans of Axe body spray.

Playing on the classic crime-scene outline, the brand joked that a spare can of Axe could double as the “best smelling Halloween decoration”, bringing its signature fragrance proposition into the spooky season.

2. Crocs 

Crocs got its mascot Niles in on the Halloween action, sharing a “Niles Halloween starter pack” through his Instagram account. The kit came complete with a pair of Crocs, an emotional support plushie and other essentials for anyone looking to channel the mascot this spooky season.

The catch? Some rather large shoes to fill. “U wanna be me? The size 26 shoe is required,” Niles quipped in the caption.

3. Doritos 

Doritos kept things simple with a spooky spin on the internet’s favourite “me and who?” format, sharing an image of two skeletons sitting side by side, each clutching a bag of Doritos amid a spread of Halloween decorations.

“Me and who?” the brand asked, turning its chips into the snack of choice for a Halloween hangout that could apparently last well beyond the grave.

4. Google 

Google gave its iconic “G” a spooky-season makeover, sharing a series of Halloween-themed variations featuring everything from cobwebs and pumpkins to other eerie embellishments.

“A little spooky G drop to inspire your last-minute Halloween searches,” the brand said, putting a festive twist on its familiar logo just in time for the big day.

5. Pantone

Pantone found its Halloween palette in the candy aisle, matching its signature colour chips to some of the season’s most recognisable treats, from candy corn hues to pumpkin-inspired shades.

Leaning into candy corn’s famously divisive reputation, the brand asked followers to weigh in on the Halloween staple while proving that even the trick-or-treat bowl can offer a little colour inspiration.

6. Shake Shack 

Shake Shack went for a classic Halloween look, sharing a photo of someone dressed in a white ghost sheet outside one of its stores, takeaway bag in hand and a drink served in a pumpkin.

“Setting the mood,” the brand captioned the post, letting the simple spooky visual do most of the talking.

7. Snickers

Snickers dressed up its familiar brand platform for Halloween, sharing a “wanted” poster featuring a Snickers bar decked out in full cowboy gear.

“You’re not yourself when you’re hungry. Don’t let the costume fool you,” the brand said, giving its long-running tagline a Halloween-ready twist while keeping the joke unmistakably Snickers.

8. Wingstop Singapore

Wingstop Singapore gave Ghostface a saucy makeover, recreating the horror icon using its ranch sauce for a post on the things it was “ghosting” this month.

On the hit list were “unseasoned opinions” and people who judge others for licking their fingers, giving the Halloween reference a distinctly Wingstop spin.

9. Yahoo

Yahoo turned inbox anxiety into Halloween decor, sharing a photo of pumpkins with one carved to resemble a Yahoo Mail inbox packed with unread messages.

“Art imitates inbox,” the brand quipped, turning a sight arguably scarier than any jack-o’-lantern into its Halloween moment.

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