October may be all about ghosts and gourds, but this year’s Halloween campaigns reminded us that creativity doesn’t have to mean clichés. From clever collabs to experiential stunts, brands found ways to tap into the spooky spirit in ways that actually furthered their marketing goals while balancing bold ideas with intentional strategy.
Here’s what this year’s Halloween campaigns showed us — and how brands can carry that momentum into the holiday season.
Not every brand needs to jump on Halloween marketing to stay relevant. For brands in categories like B2B or manufacturing, it may not make sense to force a seasonal angle — the best marketing strategy is authenticity. But for brands that do embrace Halloween, the most effective campaigns use it as a creative reset, testing bold ideas, community tie-ins and leveraging storytelling.
Brands across categories leaned into Halloween with creative tie-ins. Wendy’s tapped into pop culture with its Wednesday-inspired meal, while M&M’s launched its real-time Halloween Rescue Squad candy delivery activation. Slack gave its platform a Spooky Makeover - complete with ghostly emojis and festive channel icons that transform everyday workspaces into Halloween HQs.
Across the board, brands shifted toward participation marketing, giving audiences something to do, not just watch.
Breef's Take: Halloween reminds marketers that the best campaigns find ways to participate with purpose. The brands that stood out combined creativity with intention, using seasonal moments to test ideas that can carry into the holidays.
For brands that skipped the Halloween rush, these campaigns still serve as a playbook for what’s ahead. The same creative principles can be tweaked and translated into November and December campaigns.
Think of these as case studies for how to blend cultural relevance with smart strategy (no costume required).
🎢 Six Flags | Come Out and Play
The theme park’s first original horror short film blurred the line between marketing and entertainment. A suspense-driven storyline teased its annual Fright Fest while spotlighting the brand’s horror credentials — proving that when storytelling comes first, promotion doesn’t have to feel like an ad.
🍬 Airheads | Decoy Boy
A bizarre, hilarious stunt for adults who miss trick-or-treating, featuring a robot child built to collect candy. Equal parts creepy and clever, the campaign stood out by embracing absurdity — a reminder that weird, original ideas often cut through the Halloween clutter better than polished ones.
📧 Yahoo's | Reply All Is Scary
Playing on the all-too-common fear of hitting “reply all,” Yahoo’s short-form video used the format of a horror film (sense of dread included!) to turn a workplace anxiety into shared comedy. It’s a perfect example of how bite-sized content built around relatable moments can generate an outsized response.
🏭 Fanta's | Haunted Factory
The soda brand teamed up with Universal and Blumhouse for a full-scale haunted activation in NYC, blending horror-movie IP with an immersive experience. The partnership extended Fanta’s Halloween relevance beyond October 31 — showing how co-branding with cultural powerhouses can amplify seasonal storytelling.
💄 Maybelline's | Horror-Proof Makeup
Partnering with Sarah Michelle Gellar and creators like Tefi Pessoa, Maybelline leaned into slasher-film tropes to prove its long-wear formulas can survive any scare. The campaign cleverly turned the product’s benefit into the story itself — showing, not telling, how their products hold up under pressure.
Halloween is a marketer’s creative dress rehearsal for the holiday season. Even if your brand didn’t take part in Halloween marketing, there’s still plenty to take away from those who did. Look at what made this year’s standout campaigns click - whether it was clever storytelling, emotional resonance or cultural timing - and consider how those same elements could elevate your own Q4 strategy.
Once the fake blood’s washed off and the skeletons are packed away, here’s how to keep the creative magic alive as you plan your holiday strategies.
🤝🏻 Participation Fuels Engagement
The most memorable campaigns are the ones people participate in. Whether it’s a digital challenge, an interactive pop-up or a community-driven activation, inviting your audience to take part turns passive viewers into active brand advocates. When people can shape, share or experience your brand firsthand, it deepens their connection — and keeps it top of mind long after the moment passes.
Holiday takeaway: Think beyond getting your message out — build experiences audiences can join in on and out-of-the-box ways to engage with your brand.
🥰 Emotion Outlasts Aesthetic
The best Halloween campaigns weren’t the ones with the flashiest visuals, but the ones that sparked an emotion. Whether it was a moment of nostalgia, a clever twist of humor or a touch of suspense, campaigns that connected on a human level left the biggest impression. A striking design might catch attention, but emotion is what keeps it.
Holiday takeaway: As you plan for the season ahead, focus on feeling. Ask what emotion you want to evoke — joy, belonging, excitement — and craft your creative around that. When your audience feels something real, they’ll remember it long after the holiday lights come down.
🤠 Sometimes, Weird Works
When everyone zigs, it might be time for your marketing to zag. Stepping outside of holiday norms and breaking traditions can become leverage for your brand and a major differentiator in a crowded market. Hilarity, absurdity and bold ideas cut through the noise — and make monotonous + predictable marketing feel forgettable.
Holiday takeaway: An unconventional Christmas + holiday season could yield big returns. Consider what your competitors and peers will likely do and promote, and make sure your marketing stands out. New channels, eye-catching creative, off-beat timing — win the season by thinking outside of the (gift)box.
📄 See Halloween brand costumes from Pillsbury, Chili’s, Vita Coco and more (AdAge): How brands like Pillsbury, Chili's and Vita Coco turned costumes into this year's most creative Halloween marketing move.
🎧 4 Reasons Human Connection is THE Marketing Strategy (The Marketing Millennials): Why experiential campaigns are the ultimate hook for Q4 brand moments.
📄 8 Winning Holiday Marketing Strategies for 2025 (Sprout Social): 8 holiday marketing strategies brands are already using to stretch the season, spark emotion and copy cross-channel flows in 2025.
📄 To Set Your Brand Apart, Create Moments of Shareable Joy (Harvard Business Review): The psychology of anticipation: why consumers love limited-time drops.
Final Thoughts
Whether you participated in Halloween marketing this year or not, there’s always something to learn from seasonal campaigns. Every campaign offers clues about what your audience wants more (or less) of. From tone to timing, use those insights to build momentum through the rest of Q4.
The key isn’t to reinvent your strategy for the holidays, it’s to refine it. Take the creativity, humor or emotion that resonated in October and scale it with purpose.
The best brand stories evolve with intention, turning one-off moments into movements that keep audiences engaged well past the season’s end. 🎃
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