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There’s something nostalgic about the best Halloween ads. This holiday symbolizes autumn and having a great time with friends and family. Traditionally, Kitcast brings you the top Halloween commercials to kick the festive mood and add some sweet spookyness. Let’s see the 7 more awesome Halloween ads.
1. KitKat – Living Dead
Why: what’s a better place to bring your date to than an old creepy cemetery? The guy in the KitKat Halloween ad decides that it’s a nice spot (the privacy is guaranteed for sure). So the pair finds a scenic bench surrounded by centuries-old graves and just enjoys this moment. But they are not alone. The undead don’t sleep and one of them wants a snack. Thankfully, there’s a KitKat in the girl’s bag. The hands reach for the bag and snack on the chocolate bar (presumably underground).
What we love about this Halloween commercial is the change of the usual KitKat tagline from “Have a break” to “Have a break from the usual.” And let’s agree that the ad actually looks creepy and that’s exactly what’s needed for boosting the Halloween spirit.
2. The Gorilla Glue Company – Sticky Situations
Why: the title of one of the best Halloween ads ever goes to the… glue company. The Gorilla Glue Company produced a hilarious and well-acted spot that you won’t want to miss. We’re in the forest where a mask-bearing Scream-reminiscent killer with an axe chases poor average Joe. As the latter falls and has nowhere to go, the axe blade breaks and the killer can’t finish the job.
But there’s a third thing in the forest. The gorilla descends from the trees. At first, you think that a friendly animal would help the poor guy escape the killer and be a real hero of the ad. But the gorilla is there to promote the glue and nothing more. The animal gives the product to the axeman and leaves without any back thoughts. The average Joe is doomed. The glue proves to be really good.
Now that’s how you create a fantastic Halloween commercial.
3. Burger King – Scary Clown Night
Why: the fast food rivalry is always exciting to watch. Halloween is the battlefield too. Burger King has taken a dig at McDonald’s with the “Scary Clown Night” short. When your competitor’s mascot is a clown, it’s not hard to use the symbol against its creator. Burger King takes the fear of the clowns and blows it to scary proportions.
The plot follows a boy who rides his bike to the neighborhood Burger King. He decided to do that during the Halloween season and he’s surrounded by many creepy clowns everywhere he goes. Finally, one of the clowns with very Mc-like makeup says “I want my Whopper.”
The campaign was created by LOLA MullenLowe, Madrid, Spain in 2017.
4. McDonald’s – Halloween McNugget Buddies
Why: here’s some 90s ad nostalgia for you. This McDonald’s commercial doesn’t take a dig at anyone. It just promotes the sought-after cute McNugget Buddies, an item available with Happy Meals throughout the nineties.
It’s quite spooky too. Ronald McDonald looks like a Sunset Boulevard performer in his midlife crisis. What he does in a room full of kids is another question. There’s also a gigantic puppet cat-slash-bird and, of course, the McNugget Buddies themselves. It’s a ride but we’re enjoying it.
5. Dunkin’ Donuts – Halloween Themed Donuts
Why: there are some of the best Halloween ads that give you that warm feeling of holiday cheer. In Dunkin Donuts’ case, these are all the commercials with Michael Vale. A New York character actor, he has been the ’80s and ’90s spokesperson for the brand starring as Fred the Baker.
This Halloween ad is just one of the many where he was featured. It promotes a limited range of holiday-themed donuts and has a lot of heart. Dunkin’ back then was far from the Super Bowl-level ad domination and took things simpler.
6. M&M’s – Headless Horseman
Why: sometimes all you need for a perfect Halloween ad is just 15 seconds. That’s M&M’s. The chocolate giant delivered the “Headless Horseman” commercial in 2007 and it’s still among the golden examples of Halloween advertising examples today. Inspired by the 1999 Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow movie, the ad uses the same Gothic atmosphere but throws a trademark Red and Yellow M&M’s banter into the mix.
7. Budweiser – Halloween Commercial
Why: who doesn’t want to escape the mundane and find a secret door to party? Well, one man gets lucky in Budweiser’s iconic Halloween commercial. Our hero finds a rolling door in the supermarket while shopping with his wife.
He is transported to a Halloween-themed party where monster costume-wearing people are having fun with some music and some Bud. Then he’s approached by a vampire blond woman to have his bottle of Bud.
Some could just dive headfirst into this debauchery forgetting about the responsibilities. But not our man. He wants to bring his wife along and so he does to enjoy the party in good company. Wholesome? You bet.
Here’s our previous list of the 7 best Halloween ads
Halloween season is upon us, and it’s exciting to see companies compete with each other for the best spooky marketing. On the holiday’s eve, why not review the top commercials devoted to that matter. Here’s the list of the best Halloween ads.
1. Dietz & Watson – Scary Good Snacks with The Gabaghoul
Why: who would have thought that one of the best Halloween ads in recent years would come from Philadelphia-based delicatessen brand Dietz & Watson. And here we are applauding their 2021 campaign with the Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore playing a foul-mouthed ghoul that goes by the name Gabaghoul. The formula of a perfect campaign is executed painstakingly here. Take a universally loved actor from a cult show, get some seasonality, and add a local flavor. The result is entertaining to watch. Just steal the snacks from Gabaghoul, you might get him upset.
2. Burger King – Ghost Pepper Whopper
Why: we love it when companies really go all in with the seasonal ads. Home of Ghosts activation of Burger King is one such instance. It’s deliciously well-made and very cinematic. The commercial follows the spooky ghost encounter of the girl who’s alone at her house. Supernatural things start to unfold, her phone falls like 3 times in a row, and we’re on the edge of our seats waiting for something bad to happen to the poor girl. But no, it’s all about the new Ghost Pepper Whopper, the girl is safe, she just wanted to eat real bad in the middle of the night. And we certainly can’t blame her, this burger looks really good.
3. McDonald’s – Halloween Buckets
Why: kids of the ’90s will immediately feel the nostalgia kick rewatching this one. Boo Buckets ruled back then and Happy Meal felt really special with them in it. Announcing a new feature, McDonald’s has produced one of the most beloved and best Halloween ads too. Just look at this theatricality. The castle of Chicken McNiggets, the sounds, the full-scale Ronald McDonald walking among the puppets, the British accent of a woman-puppet. It was a great time for marketing back then. So just enjoy the good old times. By the way, in 2023 the Boo Buckets return to McDonald’s so another thing to be excited about.
4. M&M’s – Crispy’s Costume
Why: as one of the main suppliers of “treats”, like Snickers was, M&M’s really goes all in on marketing when the Halloween season comes. That’s why we’re graced by the poignant and hilarious ads every year. Crispy’s Costume from 2004 is one of the best commercials company produced and it is a nice showcase of M&M’s formula to a memorable holiday ad. The red candy is making the yellow candy’s costume. Then the yellow one tries to guess who he is. What follows is the famous line of the latter that goes like this: “I’m a pirate! Uh, no. Spaceman? No. Ninja?”. He’s not a ninja, he’s a lantern full of candy. Happy Halloween everybody.
5. IKEA – The shining
Why: you can produce a Halloween ad. But it would be hard to match the grandeur of Ikea’s holiday commercial from 2014. The Swedish giant produced one of the best Halloween ads ever by recreating The Shining in the familiar setting of the labyrinthine Ikea store. The child is riding his three-wheel bike through the endless furniture-filled halls of the mall. Each turn has a new spooky surprise like a menacingly-looking teddy bear atop a bed or a casually dining family of skeletons in one of the store’s showcase kitchens. But wait until you see the turning point of the commercial.
A child stumbles upon his parents holding hands in the blue dresses a la twins from Shining. The sight of his father in a dress alone makes your guts turn colder than ice. It turns out that the whole thing is some kind of a daydreaming nightmare of our hero. That’s definitely something to talk to a therapist about, though. If a small child has such a vivid Shining-inspired daydream, that’s not a laughing matter.
6. Booking com – Haunted Hotels for Halloween
Why: the best Halloween ads are not all cute and fluffy. Sometimes you have to pay homage to the horror too. Booking.com once went bold with their spooky marketing giving us the flawless ad about a girl in a haunted hotel. The sounds, the editing, the sense of creeping dread, it all feels like you watching horror movies from the 70s. And the haunted hotel booking market is a thing so the company wins in that department too.
7. Reese’s – It’s Reese’s season
Why: a little bonus from 2023, Reese’s Halloween ad is just an example of really good seasonal marketing. With 15 seconds of running time, it masterfully utilizes the 1980 tune “Release the Beast” from Breakwater (that Daft Punk famously sampled in their Robot Rock) and introduces a sympathetic pair of dancing skeletons. Well done, we’re dancing.
