Today is Halloween and a new survey suggests that for nearly half of all Americans, it’s their favorite holiday of the year. Amidst all the candy gathering and costume making, there are a lot of people and brands who use the day as a chance to put some stellar creative ideas out into the world. In honor of that I thought I’d share a few of my favorite examples here.
Since 2010, comedian and motivational speaker Josh Sundquist has been sharing images of his viral Halloween costumes that take advantage of the fact that he only has one leg. I recently had the chance to meet him as we were both headlining an event, and he has a powerful personal story. The costumes are just part of it, but he just unveiled this year’s costume and it is yet another winner. Follow @joshsundquist for more.
What do you do with the candy you hate? Back in my day, I would trade it with my brother but now kids have more options like the “Candy Converter” from Reese’s. This campaign from a few years ago when predictably viral because it told a story too. There is no candy that compares to one that has chocolate and peanut butter together … and they bring this “fact” to life by offering kids an option to maximize their Reese’s haul. Or at the very least give them an easy way to get rid of those chalk flavored Smarties.
Zoos are sort of the ideal experience to have on Halloween day. Animals are plentiful. There’s plenty of walking and candy gathering opportunities. At night, a zoo can easily feel scary (aided perhaps by the many animal sounds around you). The Bronx Zoo is one of many that are using Halloween as a chance to invite people into an experience (they call it Boo at the Zoo) and to share their space in an unusual and memorable way.
Finally, if you’re looking for some virtual creepiness – consider this compilation of 15 scary virtual experiences including virtual haunted houses and 360 immersive tours inside scary places like the Paris Catacombs that might invoke a bit of actual terror no matter where you’re viewing them from.
