Creatives Pick Their Favourite Halloween Ads

It’s the day of All Hallows' Eve and the witching hour will soon be upon us. So, in the spirit of scariness, we’ve contacted a handful of creatives to discover what their favourite Halloween-themed adverts are and why.

Get ready to be terrified by the likes of Carling, Snickers and IKEA as you read through these scary picks from top creatives at agencies 72andSunny, The Minimart, ZenithOptimedia and The GIG at DST.

Carlo Cavallone, executive creative director, 72andSunny Amsterdam

Ad: Ikea, Halloween

“This tiny homage to Kubrick from Singapore has everything you'd expect from a good B-movie and all the requisites to become a cult classic: it’s funny, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s properly creepy and it even has an ending that raises a lot of questions. Like the master’s original it grabs you from the get go and keeps delivering on the tension side, thanks to the flowing camera-work and the eerie setting. And, like the master’s original, it’s full of details and hidden symbolic clues that make for multiple viewings and conjectures. So, hopefully, in addition to some increased store-traffic and social media discussions, it will generate a few conspiracy theories.”

David Lang & Baz Hayman, senior creative team, The Minimart

Ad: Dirt Devil, The Exorcist

Lang: “Adverts can be scarily good or scarily bad, but this is the first one I’ve seen that is just plain scary. If I’d seen this in the cinema it would have had me peeping between my fingers. The craft in making this ad is spot on as homage to The Exorcist. Lighting, casting, cinematography and the set build. Even the opening scene sent a chill down my spine. It was a brave client to use demonic possession as a vehicle to sell their product, a lot braver than me trying to watch it alone in the dark.”

Hayman: “From a copy point of view, this ad doesn’t really have any (unless you count the religious mutterings of an old man) yet through brilliant direction and dedicated homage to the horror genre it manages to create both a scary and then brilliantly funny tone of voice that perfectly fits the Halloween occasion. For me it’s a classic film pastiche, that’s now become a classic Halloween ad. A big well done to all the creatives involved and the Dirt Devil clients for not being scared of making it – a real treat."

Mike Cavers, executive creative director, The GIG at DST

Snickers, Grocery Store Lady

“Ghouls, hooked nosed hags and dodgy music played on an organ are all common occurrences in Halloween-themed adverts. The link is obvious, and yes it makes total sense, but is it original? Not so much.

That’s why the Snickers advert which aired in the US gets my vote. The brand has managed to evoke curiosity, fear and arguably a bit of humorous discomfort with a larger than life woman in a mask that resembles someone in an Edgar suit from Men in Black, who is force filling a frightened woman’s shopping trolley with bags of Snickers.

What’s really clever is the funny ending, where we discover ‘the woman’ is actually two young kids in fancy dress aiming to ensure customers were aptly stocked with their favourite chocolate for when they later come knocking. It worked because it was a strange twist on the whole ‘trick or treat’ dressing up Halloween shtick!

It directly and cleverly appealed to mothers who were keen to make sure they provide the best treats and hospitality, and was funny at the same time. Well done to Snickers for thinking outside the box with this one, and creating a Halloween advert that will certainly be remembered for a long time – and maybe a little mayhem in the shopping malls of America.”

Karl Guard, head of strategy, ZenithOptimedia

Ad: Carling, Halloween, 2013

“There's nothing particularly scary about this Halloween spot from 2013 for Carling, but what it does really well is ground the Halloween scenario in the reality of life for young blokes in Britain in the noughties. The anticipation of the party, the effort that they've gone to get stuff ready, the mateship and, dare I say, the banter. It's just a really nicely observed bit of film with a suitably deadpan payoff: no screams, no nubile women dressed as Lucifer's wenches and no cutesy kids going trick-or-treating.”