“I was working in the lab, late one night, When my eyes beheld an eerie sight, For my monster from his slab, began to rise, And suddenly to my surprise, He did the monster mash (The monster mash), It was a graveyard smash, (He did the mash) It caught on in a flash, (He did the mash), He did the monster mash.”
Yep, it’s that time of year again and, as everyone knows, Halloween is big business. According to research from Threepipe Reply, UK spend is set to smash through £500m for the first time and, with over 30% of people spending £50 or more, there is a lot of cash up for grabs across a wide range of consumer sectors.
You might think then that there would be plenty of brands vying for the “blood pound”; well, you would be wrong. Try as we might, we couldn’t dig up anything apart from “The Big Freakend”, the second Asda campaign from Havas London which actually launched earlier this month. Better late than never hey Xav?
After almost half the UK population chose not to celebrate Halloween in 2020, searches for Halloween products on Asda.com and George.com are apparently up 820% year on year, with 37% of customers planning to celebrate Halloween already picking up their “fright night” essentials in store and online.
The 30″ spot opens unremarkably enough, with a group of teenagers skulking into their local Asda store. Things start to get strange as they are met by an Asda staffer with a jack-o’-lantern on his head, rising out of a crate of pumpkins.
A click of their fingers transforms the gang’s bemused faces into four more crudely carved, smiling lanterns – as they dance off down dark and misty, haunted house-esque aisles.
Set to You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), the classic Pete Burns’ Dead or Alive anthem, a voiceover promises “everything for a spooktacular Halloween at prices to make your head spin” – as the foursome’s Pumpkin heads literally spin off and go flying around the store.
Things are bought back down to earth with a bang, as the scene transforms into a fully decked out Halloween party, flagging up Asda’s extensive range of Halloween “goodies”.
The ultimate aim is to show families that no-one else celebrates Halloween like Asda does, and with a weekend full of celebrations to come, Asda has Halloween covered, from food and drink to decorations and costumes.
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, like most supermarket ads, we’re not talking Cannes Lions and D&AD Golden Pencils but, hey, who cares? We love a bit of Halloween and this ad certainly fits the bill. We’re sure Pete Burns’ family will be chuffed with the royalties, too.
Now… Pumpkin. Tick. Spooky mask to scare off the local kids. Tick. Giant spider for the front door. Tick. Case of Egri Bikaver Bulls Blood Blend. Tick. Set-top box to record Halloween, Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers etc etc. Tick. Have a good one!
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘what do you mean you prefer Strictly?’ 7 out of 10
