A lot of PR and marketing campaigns often perform best when they’re reactive and responding to something in the moment or tying into a key date on the seasonal calendar – think Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, the start of summer, or of course, Halloween. These moments give brands the perfect opportunity to tap into existing conversations and search trends, which makes their campaigns feel timely, relevant, and all the more likely to capture media attention.
But some brands tend to shy away from Halloween campaigns because they don’t feel the theme fits their identity, even though there are plenty of great examples that show how the “spooky season” can be adapted to fit a wide range of industries and niches. From property and education to food, fitness, and even finance, brands have found clever ways to give their campaigns a Halloween twist, proving that with the right creative angle, any sector can join the spooky fun without compromising its identity or tone.
And as a self-confessed horror nerd (and, by extension, a massive fan of anything Halloween-related), I couldn’t resist rounding up some of the most fun, clever, and creative Halloween campaigns from recent years to serve up a little eerie inspiration.
Here are ten iconic Halloween PR and marketing campaigns from the last few years.
What’s in this article:
- Broadband Choices: Scariest Movies According to Science
- GardeningExpress: Pumpkin Carving Alternatives
- Poundland: Free Invisibility Cloak
- GetAgent: Spooky Streets
- Heinz: Monster Munch Mayo
- The Knowledge Academy: The Most Haunted Universities in the UK
- Tombola: The UK’s Spookiest Castles
- SportsShoes: The Hardest Horror Villain to Escape From
- CandyStore: Most Popular Halloween Candy
- Burger King: Cancelled Clown
- Arbtech: Pumpkin Disposal Warning
Broadband Choices: Scariest Movies According to Science
Starting off strong with what is potentially my favourite Halloween campaign of all time. Broadband Choices decided to find out once and for all which horror films really get your heart racing. They strapped 250 unsuspecting volunteers to heart rate monitors and tracked how each movie affected their BPM, comparing it to the average resting heart rate of 64.
The campaign has been such a hit that it’s become something of an annual tradition – and the results are always full of surprises. In 2020, Scott Derrickson’s Sinister (2012) topped the list as the scariest film ever. In 2021, it was Rob Savage’s low-budget, Zoom-shot horror Host (2020), which even managed to repeat the feat in 2022.
The project’s campaign page has earned over 1,000 links since it initially launched – and it proved so popular that Broadband Choices couldn’t resist doing the same thing for video games, finding out which ones are truly nightmare-inducing.
GardeningExpress: Pumpkin Carving Alternatives
I couldn’t resist highlighting a Halloween campaign we ran for our long-standing online garden centre client, Gardening Express.
When news of a possible pumpkin shortage broke, we shared expert tips on alternative fruit and veg that families could carve instead – from pineapples and peppers to watermelons and turnips – and landed coverage on national news sites like The Express and Daily Star.
Poundland: Free Invisibility Cloak
Another favourite is Poundland’s Free Invisibility Cloak stunt. A few years ago, the British bargain shop announced it would be stocking Harry Potter-inspired “invisibility cloaks” – and they meant ‘invisible’ in every sense of the word.
Pictures shared on the retailer’s Twitter (X) account showed empty hangers complete with tags advertising the non-existent costume. Fittingly, they were completely free. Read more here.
GetAgent: Spooky Streets
Property experts GetAgent launched their “Spooky Streets” campaign to celebrate Halloween, proving you can find seasonal hooks for almost every sector and niche if you’re creative enough!
Their research revealed that homes on streets with ghoulish names like “Pumpkin Patch Lane” and “Witch’s Way” can fetch up to 10% more than similar properties on non-themed roads. Based on price paid data from Land Registry, the analysis shows the most valuable Halloween- related street name is ‘Grave’, with an average sold price of £405,000 (in 2021).
Heinz: Monster Munch Mayo
Heinz cemented its reputation as the ruler of Halloween stunts (remember its Blood Ketchup campaigns?) by bringing back its popular Monster Munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayonnaise for Halloween 2025.
First launched in 2024, the “scarily good” sauce quickly became a hit, with fans praising the unusual but addictive combination of mayo and Monster Munch. The campaign even attracted attention across the pond, with US fans begging for a taste. Read more here.
The Knowledge Academy: The Most Haunted Universities in the UK
There’s nothing like a good old index campaign to cut through the noise at Halloween! I particularly love this one, by The Knowledge Academy, which set out to determine the most haunted universities in the UK.
The study on 64 universities looked at factors such as the number of cemeteries and gravestones in each area, the number of listed buildings within two miles of each university campus, and the number of paranormal reports within a two-mile radius. The findings revealed that The University of Bath and The University of Liverpool share the eerie title of the UK’s most haunted universities.
This is a great example of seasonal PR done well – simple and data-led, with a clear link to the brand’s education niche. The regional angle makes it super shareable too.
Tombola: The UK’s Spookiest Castles
Another strong example of a Halloween-themed index-style campaign comes from Tombola, which analysed the spookiest castles around the UK.
While I’m not quite as keen on the methodology – ranking castles based on the number of reviews mentioning words like “scary”, “spooky”, “ghost”, and “haunted” to calculate a “Scare Factor” – it still delivers as a fun, light-hearted concept that delivers search value. The idea ties neatly into Halloween and lends itself well to regional press coverage, with local angles for media to pick up on. You can read more here.
SportsShoes: The Hardest Horror Villain to Escape From
This is a brilliant example of how even the most niche sectors can find topical relevance – because who would have thought to link running shoes with running from horror villains?
The campaign from SportsShoes.com analysed iconic characters such as Leatherface, Ghostface, and Patrick Bateman, assessing each villain’s height, stride length, and running speed to determine who could catch their victims the fastest.
The study crowned Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the speediest slasher, reaching over seven miles per hour, followed by Scream’s Ghostface and American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman.
It’s a fun, unexpected concept from a fitness brand – cleverly merging running performance with pop culture and Halloween. Read more here.
CandyStore: Most Popular Halloween Candy
Proving that sometimes the best ideas are the most obvious ones, CandyStore.com’s annual map of the most popular Halloween sweets in every US state has become a staple of seasonal coverage across American media.
The results are apparently based on 16 years of sales data and backed by over 12,000 survey responses, giving the campaign real credibility and data depth. It’s a simple concept executed brilliantly – visual, topical, and packed with regional relevance that journalists love.
Interestingly, the campaign page is currently throwing a 404 error, but a quick look at CandyStore’s backlink profile in Ahrefs (filtered by the keyword “Halloween”) shows it’s earned links from more than 1,000 domains – proof of just how powerful a well-executed data set and a simple annual hook can be for digital PR performance.
Burger King: Cancelled Clown
Burger King’s “Cancelled Clown” campaign in Sweden and Denmark was fantastic – and just the right amount of petty. The stunt played on the Bloody Mary myth, where saying “cancelled clown” three times in the mirror inside certain Burger King bathrooms would summon the ghostly reflection of Ronald McDonald himself.
The experience used voice-recognition technology to make the lights flicker and reveal the haunting image. This is exactly the kind of immersive, shareable moment that gets people talking (and filming/posting on social media)!
What makes it so good is how perfectly it captures Burger King’s playful rivalry with McDonald’s. It’s a bold move, but not mean-spirited, and ties neatly into Halloween while reinforcing Burger King’s identity as the fearless challenger brand that loves to poke fun at the fast-food giant. Read more here and you can watch the campaign video here.
Arbtech: Pumpkin Disposal Warning
I’m going to squeeze in just one more Motive campaign – this one for our ecology consultancy client, where we shared expert commentary on how to properly dispose of pumpkins once the festivities are over.
It’s a great example of how successful PR doesn’t always require hours spent crafting detailed or complex campaigns. Sometimes, the most effective stories come from simple, timely ideas that tap into seasonal trends and capture public interest.
This story landed in Daily Mirror, Tyla, and Woman & Home, amongst others!
Inspired by these spooky campaigns? Let us help you create a scarily good digital PR strategy. Contact the Motive team today to discuss!
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