The 10 Best Halloween Marketing Campaigns & Why They Work
In 30 Seconds
Halloween has evolved from a simple trick-or-treat tradition into Britain's third-biggest retail event, with UK consumer spending tripling since 2013 to reach £776 million in 2024.
But it’s not just sweets and costumes on shopping lists. Halloween marks a vital time to become front of mind before Q4 - and it’s an excellent opportunity to experiment with messaging that’s less typical for your brand.
The best halloween marketing campaigns are wacky and memorable, but they work for specific reasons. We’re showing you how.
Halloween marketing has grown to monstrous proportions in the UK. What started as simple activations around trick or treating has transformed into stiff competition to capture the attention of customers who are increasingly ready to spend.
But you don't need to be the scariest (or most minted) brand in town to make a splash. There are modern, brand-adaptable levers you can pull, no matter your budget. To prove it, we've rounded up the best Halloween campaigns and dissected why they work.
From limited-edition Halloween products to interactive digital tools, to immersive events, these examples showcase how you can make it rain for the entirety of October (figuratively - the UK weather has the literal kind of October rain sorted). So, let's dive into some of the most brilliant halloween marketing campaigns that have been giving us goosebumps in the best possible way.
We marketers talk a lot about multichannel campaigns - but Burger King knew that horror movie “The Ring” did it first
1. Burger King: "The Call"
Do you have a soft spot for camp, classic horror movies, or is that just us? For their 2023 campaign, Burger King took inspiration from "The Ring" and turned the silly dial up to 11.
Adding Ghost Pepper items to their menu for Halloween, the brand turned to director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (American Horror Story) for their ad, in which a woman recieves an ominous phone call telling her “It’s back. It’s coming for you”, after which the food items levitate towards her.
And much like The Ring's iconic TV scene, Burger King brought the campaign out from screens and into the real world: consumers could visit thecall.bk.com to sign up a friend to receive their own creepy phone call ahead of Halloween. The personalised phone call used AI to read the recipient's name in the spooky voice from the ad.
Why It Works: Halloween is one of those core calendar moments that is deeply connected to cinema. This campaign paid homage to classic horror film tropes, but in a light-hearted, camp way. But what took it to the next level was the real world prank element: the ability for users to sign up and receive a personalised call similar to the one in the short film heightened the campaign's immersion and encouraged user participation and sharing.
And the proof is in the pudding (or burger): following release, searches for the Ghost Pepper Whopper increased by over 50%.
Key Takeaways:
Focus on "experience" over just "product". Considering how fans could truly experience the campaign rather than simply watching it took it to the next level. How you can likewise connect the dots for your audience?
Use recognisable horror movie references to create immediate emotional connection
Utilise a multi-channel approach: Releasing the short film online and in select theatres combined with social media amplification and personalised calls ensured wide reach and engagement.
Heinz’ Tomato Blood took a Halloween party classic and ran with it
2. Heinz: "Tomato Blood"
If you've never used ketchup as fake blood, congrats to your parents for raising an emotionally stable child. For the rest of us, ketchup was our first forray into special effects.
Heinz first tapped ketchup’s use as a childhood Halloween prop in 2020, with a special edition Heinz Tomato "Blood" Ketchup in a tiny 570-bottle run as part of a sweepstakes. It was such a success that they brought it to the mainstream in 2021, alongside a costume kit in their Halloween online shop, HeinzHalloween.com. Tomato Blood returned the next year, this time Heinz' fronted by Toby, a vegetarian vampire influencer who chooses to eat something tastier than human blood: Heinz Tomato Blood Ketchup.
Since then, Heinz has continued to re-release its Tomato Blood bottles each October, building on established themes from earlier years. The brand particularly encourages sharing of DIY costumes on social.
Why It Works: This campaign shines precisely because this isn't about taste. Sometimes you've got to play the hand that the brand association gods have dealt you. Halloween is spooky, but more than that, it's nostalgic. And where Heinz connects is peak nostalgia: childhood pranks.
It's also proof that a good idea doesn't have to be a completely new one. Blood ketchup was great in 2020, and it got better each year. By 2022, Heinz were tapping into Gen Z customers by incorporating vegetarian messaging. Reaching Gen Z is all about the cult of the personality, so the tactic worked. The campaign generated over 5.1 billion views for #heinzhalloween on TikTok.
Key Takeaways:
Self awareness will bring consumers on side. Sure, Heinz' recipe developers would love you to shout about the taste of ketchup, but embracing the other uses of the product gave the campaign more comedic runway.
Transform existing products with halloween themed packaging for maximum impact. "57 blood types" instead of "57 ingredients"? Go for it.
Costume kits were genius build on the DIY costume association. Consider how you can amp up your own customers' experience of your product. Costumes are also solid gold for kicking off organic UGC campaigns.
Fanta worked with Warner Bros. for timely Halloween-themed items, then took it further
3. Fanta: "Summon What You Wanta"
To promote upcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Fanta teamed with Warner Bros. to bring fans a “taste of the afterlife” in the lead up to Halloween. Fanta gave the titular character a limited-edition flavour, ‘Haunted Apple’, while the classic Fanta flavours got “Halloween costumes” of their own, with cans designed after central characters of the film.
But this activation wasn’t just about redesigned product packaging. Each new can also featured a QR code that fans could scan to view exclusive content online, and which also granted access to physical experiences - as well as the chance to win tickets to see the film in cinemas.
The campaign was supported by a 60-second film featuring Beetlejuice summoning the Fanta afterlife train by repeating "Wanta Fanta" three times at a vending machine.
Why It Works: This was a strong brand partnership because the brand alignment felt particularly "halloween-y": both Fanta and Beetlejuice are known to be fun, quirky, and eccentric. And of course the fact of the film being a sequel meant the campaign also tapped into the growing trend of Gen Z seeking nostalgia. Add the prizes and exclusive offers and you get a perfect recipe for purchase behaviour.
Key Takeaways:
Timing is key. The campaign was strategically timed to coincide with the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, capitalising on the film's anticipation and cultural relevance.
Tap into existing affection for popular cultural touchstones (movies, music, franchises) to build engagement and excitement, particularly among nostalgic or fan bases.
Use QR codes to transform a product into a gateway for a broader, interactive, and rewarding experience for consumers, effectively bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds of your brand.
No haunted house here: IKEA's surprising halloween twist
4. IKEA: "Monsters Not Included"
This sophisticated Halloween campaign comes from IKEA, who took universal childhood fears about monsters lurking in bedrooms as their creative hook. Their 2023 ad featured shadowy figures and atmospheric lighting to showcase their furniture, promising their products come "monsters not included".
Like with other examples in this list, the brand played on common horror movie tropes, but this ad ended with the flick of a switch – illuminating IKEA as the inevetable safe choice. It reinforced the idea that IKEA's products are trustworthy and have families at the centre of their design.
Why It Works: Instead of being genuinely spooky, the campaign used well known horror tropes to create a sense of suspense that was quickly resolved with reassurance. It integrated IKEA products into the narrative, but the tagline was safe and comforting. And, of course, it resonated with families by addressing a common concern and offering a fun, lighthearted take on Halloween.
Key Takeaways:
Use your brand's ethos to create a unique angle. Halloween advertising often leans into pure scares or goofy humour, but this approach was found by offering reassurance and comfort
Use atmospheric visuals to build brand memorability. IKEA highlighted the feeling of safety and peace of mind through warm lighting, even in a dark ad.
Deploy humour and lightheartedness strategically. The initial suspense quickly gave way to a humorous twist, making the campaign memorable.
Martha Stewart and Liquid Death took Halloween decorations to creepy new heights
5. Liquid Death: "Dismembered Moments"
Canned water company Liquid Death already had the spooky spirit nailed with their brand name, so they used Halloween as their prompt to help another familiar face get creepy.
Working with Martha Stewart - a.k.a the aspirational lifestyle mogul who's built her brand on an image of cosy living - the brand created a limited edition luxury candle shaped like a life-sized severed hand clutching a can of Liquid Death Mountain Water.
In their social media videos, Martha Stewart is seen aproned-up in her kitchen, but rather than prepping aesthetic decorations, she's cutting off hands to make candles. As she calmly discusses the product in her signature reassuring style, horror movie elements play in the background, creating a chilling combination.
Why It Works: This campaign was about subverting expectations. Liquid Death is known for its macabre marketing, so it was the choice of frontwoman that made this halloween campaign sing: The juxtaposition of Martha Stewart, a figure synonymous with comforting domesticity, with this gruesome imagery was jarring and attention grabbing. The product name helped send this home: "Dismembered moments" sounds like a generic candle scent name gone horribly (horror-ibly?) wrong.
The social-first campaign achieved a nearly one-to-one 'like-to-share' organic ratio in the first 24 hours. And it scored widespread media coverage, too.
Key Takeaways:
Subvert audience expectations. In a crowded market, unconventional collaborations can be a powerful way to stand out.
But don't force it. Shock value actually loses value if it's just for shock's sake. This Halloween campaign resonated because both Martha Stewart and Liquid Death found a genuine touchpoint through their sense of humour.
People love to share funny moments they've seen online. This campaign was designed with shareability in mind and it shows.
Haribo's rapid sweet deliveries were a clever Halloween giveaway
6. Haribo: "Treat Line"
For the average Brit, the "Americanisation" of Halloween is most bothersome when it comes to trick-or-treating. You're minding your own business at home when the doorbell goes - but without sweets to hand, you risk disappointing the local kids. Do you pretend you're not in?
Haribo recognised this tension and 2024, they partnered with instant commerce company GoPuff to solve this, creating the "UK's first sweets emergency service". Together, they delivered free halloween sweets directly to homes in Bristol, Birmingham, and London (that is, until the 2,250 packs of Haribo ran out).
The campaign was supported by outdoor displays and social media videos in the form of paid social UGC and influencer partnerships.
Why It Works: By solving a seasonal "grown up problem", Haribo created a campaign that resonated. They’d previously conducted research that found 70% of parents felt it was important to "get Halloween right," while many also confessed to hiding from trick-or-treaters when their sweet supplies ran low.
Using this insight, the campaign directly sought to solve the problem through a fun, relevant and timely solution. The "Treat Line" name was playful and memorable, while the "emergency service" tagline drove home the message that Haribo is our first port-of-call for sweets. It demonstated that Haribo understands modern family needs and built brand loyalty through practical value.
Key Takeaways:
Solve real customer problems with a seasonal solution. Conduct research to identify any consumer challenges and take this as your starting point - no matter how small it may seem.
Partnerships can help build your value proposition. The collaboration with GoPuff helped bring the emergency service seamlessly to life. Look for ways to partner up that highlight both brands' strengths.
Real-world activations are a great choice for Halloween: keep it timely and localised to generate earned media opportunities without huge upfront costs.
Katherine Ryan climbing into a taxi dressed as a Monster Munch: file under "unconventional Halloween themed challenges"
7. Walkers: “Giant Costume”
Ever dressed as a monster for Halloween? How about a Monster Munch?
Walkers created limited-edition adult size Wotsit and Monster Munch costumes, available to purchase for £19.99 on their dedicated website, snackstumes.co.uk. Customers who ordered their inflatable costume also received a corresponding snack in the post. Designed to appeal to "big kids", it tapped the growing market for adult Halloween celebrations. And it clearly resonated: in both 2023 and 2024's activations, the costumes sold out within days.
To promote the campaign, Walkers enlisted comedian Katherine Ryan (who wore a pickled onion Monster Munch costume through London streets) alongside other celebrities including Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks to create content that was packed with personality - and which resonated with huge audience numbers. In fact, social influencer engagement alone reached 98.5k.
Why It Works: Tapping into "kidulting" and nostalgia is what made this campaign fly. By focusing on the adult-only households, Walkers recognised an opportunity to capitalise on the cult following of their products for a funny costume choice. Making the product limited edition only added to the hype.
The costume idea was functional and brand-building. Real customers became walking advertisements at Halloween parties, and the UGC came flooding in at the end of October. And of course, by working with a strong set of influencers, Walkers drove brand talkability and reached a huge audience earlier in the month.
Key Takeaways:
Give adults an opportunity to be big, excited kids. This is the generation that buy Labubu's, after all: don't underestimate the power of infantalisation + scarcity.
Costume parties are huge opportunities for UGC. Everyone's going to be taking pictures of their outfits, so make it about you. If you can leverage humour, you’ll see even better pick up.
Celebrity partnerships amplify organic social reach. That's obvious. But what worked here was leaning into comedy. Plenty of c'lebs will dress up as a sexy witch - but struggling into a taxi while dressed as a giant yellow crisp? That's memorable - and it's a press opportunity.
Temptations proved that cats are in the market for Halloween recipes, too
8. Temptations: “Tasty Human”
Black cats might be a go-to halloween costume, but do cats know it's Halloween time at all?
Cat food brand Temptations are an unusual entry to our list of best Halloween marketing campaigns, but it's proof that you don't need to sell sweets or costumes to make the most of the calendar opportunity. For their "Tasty Human" campaign in 2021, the brand wondered aloud whether cats would eat their owners, if they were big enough.
In a twist on their existing "Tasty Chicken" and "Tasty Beef" products, Temptations launched a limited edition "Tasty Human" (actually a mix of chicken and beef) cat snacks. The brand encouraged cat owners to heed the warning: treat your pet with these snacks before they treat themselves to you. The new product was launched with ads that featured cat owners becoming increasingly perturbed by their cat's ominous stares.
Why it works: Love 'em, but cats can give off a freaky vibe sometimes. Research postulating that if cats were bigger, they’d eat humans definitely does not help.
Temptations' campaign works because it taps into this cat owner "social truth" to create a morbidly funny idea. Cats often seem to be plotting our demise, so it’s a perfect starting point for a creepy halloween campaign. It demonstrated how well temptations understands its customers and generated buzz because it dialled the paranoia up for comedic effect.
And of course, instead of just running with a themed campaign, Temptations took it further by launching a real product - which meant more earned media and stronger sales.
Key takeaways:
Embrace creative risks. "Human flavour treats" might not have got through the boardrooms of more conservative brands, but Temptations had faith in their customers' sense of humour.
Halloween spending isn't just for kids' parties. Adults and animals are ripe targets for creative marketing strategies too.
This campaign was supported by unusual research, but social listening would have given good foundations too: many of us have felt unnerved by cat behaviour and joke about it online. Use consumer research to find the ways your products can tap into creepy customer observations.
Bailey's halloween campaign featured the best dressed witches in town
Bailey’s: "Witches"
"Christmas classic" liqueur brand Baileys wanted to drive consideration for their product in Halloween recipes, so in 2021, they enlisted the help of drag queens Tia Kofi, Veronica Green and Asia Thorne to bring the idea to life.
There is no greater expert at dressing up for Halloween than a drag queen. And given the recent stratospheric success of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, the opportunity to make the most of this talent was too great to miss. In a 20-second TV ad, Baileys featured the drag queens as glamourous witches who indulge in "deliciously wicked" Baileys cocktails, casting wands to produce drinks instead of spells.
On the smaller screen, drag queens with large social media followings created 'how-to' content around new Halloween-themed Baileys cocktails.
Of course, the campaign was stylish. But it was also a talking point. A partnership with Diageo's LGBTQ+ employee group, the Rainbow Network ensured the creative was an authentic representation of drag. A launch event at Tonight Josephine and hand-painted LGBTQ+ murals in key areas of London a helped the campaign resonate with the communities it depicted.
Why it works: The "HalloQueens" weren't just a catchy name: they were truly celebrated in the campaign. By working with the LGBTQ+ community and empowering the cast to make bold, creative performances, the ad went beyond performative allyship. Integrating the TV ad with real-world elements meant the campaign generated powerful earned media. And it successfully repositioned the brand's relevance beyond Christmas, with a 9% YoY brand uplift.
The partnerships with social media drag influencers were the cherry on the cocktail. Drag is about creativity - and the 'how-to' messaging resonated with audiences who love style and craft.
Key takeaways:
You don't have to be a traditionally spooky brand to position yourself for Halloween. But if you are going to change perceptions, you need to connect the purpose with personality.
Bailey's collaborated with culturally relevant partners to do this. But if you're going to embrace cultural leaders, you need to put the work in. Involve your partners in development for fresher, more resonant creative angles that aren’t simply performative.
Influencer marketing is a perfect way to highlight ‘how-to’s. This campaign tailored formats for the platform, with a short TV ad to tell the story and social media to bring it to life at home.
e.l.f used Halloween to address tricky subjects they recognised in their target audience
e.l.f.: "Divine Skintervention"
Heard of "skin-fluencers"? Well, let us introduce you to the term "sin-fluencer"...
Drawing on Gen Z's love of skincare and influencers, beauty brand e.l.f used humour to cast bad skincare habits as "sins", and enlisted comedian Megan Slater to become their campaign's frontwoman: an evil influencer who tempts viewers into poor skincare choices. Naturally, she's dressed as a Hallween devil while sin-fluencing. And the remedy - or "skincare salvation" is offered by e.l.f's Holy Hydration! product.
The 2024 campaign's hero video was a 60-second ad released on major streaming platforms. The brand also created an interative landing page that allowed users to "confess" their skincare sins via a quiz, which allowed them to receive personalised product recommendations.
Why it works: e.l.f’s research found that despite being the generation that spends the most on skincare, Gen Zers also admit they often fall short when it comes to good skincare habits.
Instead of shaming cusomers for behaviours like squeezing spots or sleeping in makeup, e.l.f used humour to personify the problem in a Halloween activation. Megan Slater's sin-fluencer character was memorable and funny. Adding the interactive webpage then gamified the campaign, encouraging engagement and directly linking the message to a sales outcome.
Key takeaways:
Use humour and personification to turn intimidating topics into lighthearted, approachable messages. Halloween 'sins' are a perfect opportunity for this.
Even better: work with a comedian to bring your idea to life. They'll be able to craft funny characters and catchy one-liners that work perfectly for social meda cutdowns. This is especially useful if your audience skews young.
Gamify the experience. Encouraging customers to "confess their sins" helped e.l.f learn more about customers and deliver product recommendations that would strike home.
Strategic insights for Halloween marketing success
1. Timing is everything - so start your spooky season early
According to Mars Wrigley's Chief Halloween Officer (yes, you read that right) Tim LeBel: "Earlier distribution of product helped drive new ways for consumers to interact with our products. This was particularly driven by a steady trend in people celebrating at home... we're seeing consumers continue these at-home rituals and new traditions."
The data supports early campaign launches, with nearly half of UK consumers starting halloween shopping before October, and 30% beginning in September. Brands launching halloween marketing campaigns early capture extended shopping periods whilst building sustained engagement throughout the spooky season.
2. Watch out for blocked keywords
Did you know that 41% of halloween content misses advertising opportunities due to keyword blocklists? Words including "kill," "blood," "horror," "scary," and "death" trigger automatic keyword blocks, limiting campaign reach across paid platforms.
How do you get around this? Answer: with a little creativity. You'll have spotted there are more than a few puns in this campaign roundup: by focusing on positive Halloween themes, or getting crafty with your portmanteaus, you'll ensure your campaign is memorable AND doesn't get blocked.
3. Emotional connection over product features
Whether tapping into childhood fears (IKEA's monsters), nostalgic movie memories (Fanta's Beetlejuice collaboration), or personifying customer behaviour 'sins' (e.l.f's sin-fluencers), successful halloween marketing campaigns prioritise emotional resonance over product specifications. Create content that makes customers feel something first, then you can more seamlessly integrate product benefits.
4. UGC will amplify your reach
Halloween naturally encourages sharing - after all, if you've made the effort with costumes, decorations, pranks and recipes, you'll want to document it. So, it makes sense that the top performing halloween campaigns create frameworks for customers to generate their own content whilst featuring brand elements.
Consider how your halloween promotions can encourage customers to share their own spooky stories, costume ideas, or product usage in original and fun ways.
Ready to brew up your own halloween marketing magic? At Bottle, we specialise in creating innovative campaigns that capture seasonal moments whilst driving genuine business results. From product launches to integrated social media strategies, we help other businesses make the most of every marketing opportunity. Whether you're planning flash sales, developing halloween marketing activations, or creating immersive brand experiences, we'll help your brand cast a spell on consumers this halloween season.
Contact us to discover how we can help you create halloween campaigns that deliver scarily good results for your business.