Alison Head of Projects
This month, the food industry was full of tasty creativity yet again. From wicked witch cocktails to paranormal activity campaigns, October saw lots of spooktacular Halloween inspired marketing.
Join us as we take a closer look at a few of our favourite industry updates, campaigns, and projects from October in our latest creative round-up…
Bailey’s serve up a witching hour cocktail campaign
Bailey’s has become notable for its delicious Christmas adverts with innovative creations and festive indulgence. This year, the famous liquor launched a Halloween-themed advert campaign to encourage consumers to get involved with the seasonal event.
The short advert follows three witches who gather together during a storm to make a deliciously wicked Baileys s’mores martini cocktail complete with a toasted marshmallow and gold leaf.
Featuring the UK’s biggest drag queens; Veronica Green, Tia Kofiand, and Asia Thorne as the witches, the campaign sparks a powerful overarching message of authentic drag representation within the wider LGBTQ+ community.
The team behind the ‘Witches’ campaign partnered with Diageo’s LGBTQ+ employee group, the Rainbow Network, and INvolve, to both inspire and put the community at the heart of the global campaign.
The campaign is a celebration of indulgence and represents inclusivity by highlighting how the enjoyment of a treat can bring people together. Bailey’s have succeeded yet again and we can’t wait to see what they bring to the table at Christmas.
Wagamama unleashes the angry vegan monster, ‘Vegamama’
The Asian-inspired food chain, Wagamama, has become the UK’s first highstreet restaurant to make 50% of its menu plant-based. To mark this milestone, Wagamama launched a Godzilla inspired TV advert with its very own ‘Vegamama’ monster .
The popular restaurant approached the campaign with an element of humour to visually illustrate its environmental credentials.
The ad opens with the title, ‘Our Planet is Burning’ and shows polluted and neglected streets before introducing the angry vegan monster, known as ‘Vegamama’. Rampaging through the city destroying everything it believes is damaging the planet, the monster comes to a halt when it discovers Wagamama’s plant-based menu.
The advert rounds off with the powerful statement, ‘Eating More Plants Can Help Our Planet’. Aiming to educate others on the damaging impact meat production and consumption can have on the environment, the campaign encourages others to ‘Eat The World You Want to See’ whether that’s choosing to go vegan, finding a new go-to vegan side or choosing to eat meat-free for a week.
Wagamama turning an environmental issue into a comedic yet charming TV campaign highlights the action we can take as consumers to create change – what a great way to get this message across.
Fanta scares shoppers in Ultimate Halloween Game
Every year, Fanta is heavily associated with Halloween and dresses up its bottles in spooky wrappers. This year is no exception.
The much-loved brand has introduced an on-pack promotion, daring its customers to take part in its Ultimate Halloween Game . Giving away a series of either epic prizes or scary surprises, the game features QR codes that are scanned on limited edition bottles to find out instantly if a prize has been won.
The prizes range from cauldrons of cash, home entertainment systems and the best supplies for the ultimate scary movie night in. For the scary surprises, those who don’t win a prize will instead receive exclusive digital content to scare their friends and family with.
As part of the campaign, Fanta released a fun TV ad campaign, ‘In the Name of Play’, which is set in a haunted supermarket where items come to life and scare shoppers to keep in line with the on-pack promotions, social media, and digital content.
From a jumpy popcorn machine to delivery boxes coming to life, the Fanta ad rounds off with the tagline, ‘Grab a Fanta and scare yourself silly this Halloween.’
It’s yet another inventive idea from Fanta and they can’t help but top the spooky campaigns each year – let’s see what next Halloween brings.
Burger King’s 3am apparitions challenge
Getting into the spirit this spooky season, Burger King has created an online phenomenon with its Halloween inspired campaign, offering free food on the app at witching hour everyday leading up to October 31st .
The ingenious idea dares frightened food lovers to brave the 3am apparitions with a spine-chilling stipulation – the hour where spirits are most likely to appear.
Well-known for its spooky campaigns, Burger King has exceeded with this unique promotion. For the fast-food lovers, all they have to do is download the app and wait for the paranormal activity to occur before placing an order for a free meal.
The creative TV ad showcases ghosts on the prowl, from doors slamming to furniture moving itself around the room with the tagline, ‘Take Away Your Sleep and Your Hunger’. The food chain then rewards its bravest customers who dare to embrace the scariest time of night during the scariest time of the year.
This is something nobody was expecting but it’s definitely one way to get people talking this Halloween. Question is, how will they top it next year?
Make sure you pay us a visit next month to catch up together on the latest creative work in the industry throughout November.
