My shots Monday: Halloween
It’s Halloween week and here we dedicate a My shots folder to some monster marketing on shots.
With the scariest night of the year upon us we’re gearing up for a busy week of creepy campaigns and scary spots here at shots HQ but before the murky marketing picks up pace, below we look at some of our favourites from the past few years.
Last week BBH Singapore kicked things off with a freaky film for furniture brand IKEA nodding to Stanley Kubrick’s cult psychological horror The Shining. Featuring representations of iconic characters Danny and the twins from the classic title, over the years the horror movie has proved to be a big influence for brand marketers at this time of year. Below is our pick of the bunch.
The haunted house is one of the most common ingredients for a good Halloween plotline and despite knowing that bad things happen upon entering such setting, you can bet your life that a characters’ curiosity will always get the better of them in movies and ads and this clip doesn’t buck the trend.
Created for long-time client, Nike, through its agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the spot aired in 2004 and follows a young girl who approaches an unwelcoming door as she invites herself to meddle with the unknown. The spot sees an interesting transformation when she receives the scare of her life and the tagline utilises her fear to promote running and speed.
At sister agency W+K Amsterdam, ECD Mark Bernath was the one entering a spooky structure in the form of a haunted hotel to make his directorial debut for Booking.com last Halloween. The Queen Anne Hotel sees paranormal activity take place on the TV screen in one of the guest rooms as a young lady lies in fear of what is about to ensue. The trailer was created to promote the site’s range of different accommodation throughout the world – including haunted hotels – and was aimed at the US market.
BBH New York’s spot for AXE throws a zombie into the mix and when a young girl wakes up on a couch in a dark and draughty living room you know what’s coming next. Receiving a mysterious phone call reminiscent of a scene from a Wes Craven movie, soon she gets chased through the house by a zombie before reaching for a can of AXE deodorant to repel her pursuer. Elliott Lester is the director on the spot and the campaign once again marries humour with the fright theme of Halloween.
MJZ director Craig Gillespie’s spot makes a mockery of the traditional scary villain and pokes fun at movie Sleepy Hollow’s headless horseman character by rearranging the words and presenting a hilarious alternative. Hung on the continuing ‘you’re not you when you’re hungry’ line, the spot was launched out of BBDO New York and delivers a humorous treat as a result of some post trickery from Framestore and NO6.
Turning the traditional on its head and this time playing out from the point of view of the villain, Tool’s clever interactive campaign warns of the dangers of taking candy from strangers. Upon arriving at a dedicated website, takethislollipop.com, users are dared to click through and connect via their Facebook accounts with no clue about what they are about to engage with.
A Flash-based live action film then follows and a creepy male figure is introduced. Sitting alone in a dingy room looking suspicious, he proceeds to trawl through photos, contacts, timelines and other personal information offering a unique interactive experience. Scenes featuring the scary predator come courtesy of director Jason Zada and the work notched up six million Facebook Likes in the two weeks leading up to Halloween three years ago.
To view all of our Halloween favourites click here and for updates on new work this week register for the shots newsletter.
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