Dive Brief:

• Bacardí is going all out this Halloween with two new spots and the return of a fan-favorite glow-in-the-dark bottle, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.
• The 30-second spots, “Blood Moon” and “The Zombie,” show consumers how to make two new Bacardí-featuring cocktails for the holiday. Directed by Emily Elizabeth Thompson, the commercials contain nods to classic horror films such as “Poltergeist” and “The Shining.”
• In addition, Bacardí released a Spotify playlist to get consumers in the Halloween mood and plans to release a Snapchat lens which allows users to make their face seem like they are painted in makeup inspired by the cocktails.

Dive Insight:

With Halloween a little more than a month away, brands are looking to take advantage of early hype. Bacardí is mixing up a few early scares with two new TV spots inspired by classic horror films. The spots accompany two new digital activations and a limited-edition bottle, with the campaign supported by content posted to the rum’s social channels. Both spots are set to debut in October.

“The Zombie” takes place in a graveyard, where zombie hands shoot up out of the ground to mix a cocktail. The bottle of Bacardí used by the undead in the film is made out of a bottle of the rum delivered by bats. In “Blood Moon,” a cocktail is mixed by an invisible figure in a kitchen with a static TV. Both spots feature the glowing bottle.

To extend the campaign to other digital channels, Bacardí rolled out a “Terrifyingly Good Playlist” on Spotify and plans to bring a Halloween-inspired lens to Snapchat. The latter’s AR functionality has been a frequent technology used by marketers, while Spotify was recently utilized by DirecTV for a football-themed campaign.

Halloween spending is expected to reach a record $12.2 billion in 2023, up from $10.6 billion, as a record number of people (73%) plan to participate in Halloween-related activities, according to a National Retail Federation survey. Bacardí is looking to take advantage of the big spending period with a unique bottle, which could be used as a decoration, with the campaign underscoring how a holiday once reserved for children has become increasingly popular with adults. 

Despite being several weeks away, brands have already started rolling out Halloween campaigns. For example, NYX Professional Makeup turned Gen Z stars into monsters for its recently rolled out effort.