Laura's Word 31 October 2013

Stay in and lock the doors! There’s evil afoot in adland. Zombies, witches, banshees and vampires lurk in dark corners, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting junior creatives. Yes! It’s Halloween. In case you hadn’t noticed. And this year brands and agencies have produced a gruesome array of horrifying ads that will turn your hair white. If you’re brave enough, read our top Halloween ads. Or the Necronomicon.

 

 

Halloween and Star Wars and pugs – this Verizon spot from mcgarrybowen just needs to chuck in a Miley Cyrus reference and someone dressed as Walter White and it would be on course to win some kind of pop culture bingo. Also: this is why I should have a dog.

 

New director hunters - this one’s for you, if you dare! Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg student Andreas Brun has created this spooky spec spot for Lux, ‘Save your Skin’. But if you add him to the roster, do keep an eye on his Chianti drinking habits.

 

 

What’s scarier – plaque or children? If they’re anything like the sugar-addled rabble in this Crest and Oral-B spot from Publicis Kaplan Thaler I might take my chances with the gingivitis. Note to self: don’t come become between kids and sweets.  And if their teeth do fall out, well, that just makes it all the more difficult to bite your ankles.

 

On a similar theme - though even scarier execution - BBH Asia Pacific are urging us to protect ourselves  with Chupa Chups this Halloween.  If you do decide to give #MonsterKids Moments a watch, it might give you nightmares. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

 

If screaming kids aren’t your thing, perhaps groovy stoners and Great Danes might be a more palatable proposition. Translation have hopped in the Mystery Machine with Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby in this ad for State Farm.

Just like that bit in Ghost Dad when Bill Cosby jumped into a telephone handset and zoomed about the wires, AMV BBDO and Doritos are taking Halloween into the unearthly world of telecoms. They’re hosting a live event on Snapchat (ask a child) with the popular Doritos mariachi band.

 

Also doing unspeakable acts on social media is Tide. The team at Digitas have created a series of horror-inspired Vines. From the Psycho to Carrie, the previously unterrifying cleaning brand is threatening to scare us stainless. And we love it. 

 

 

 

Other Vine special mentions to Lowe’s and Oreo.
 

 

 

In lieu of wishing you all a ‘Happy Halloween’ – a truly horrific phrase -  I’ll leave you with a Spotify playlist to get you all in the mood. Don’t let the zombies bite!