Nostalgia Drives Halloween as Brands Revive Classic Ads

Shoppers plan to celebrate the holiday by decorating their houses (53%), carving pumpkins (48%), and staying home to greet trick or treaters (43%), per 84.51º research. Buying will happen mostly IRL at grocery (62%), mass (43%) and club stores (23%).

TV mafiosos, twerking zombies

Dietz & Watson, a Philadelphia-based deli brand, has revived the Gabaghoul, first seen in 2021 with actor Vincent Pastor in the role. Fellow “made man” from the Sopranos, Steve Schirripa, steps into the role this year with four lightly creepy and heavily accented spots from longtime agency partner Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners.

The gig was “too big for just one actor” and has elicited “so much brand love” that it made sense to awaken him, according to Steve Red, the Mod Op agency’s president and co-chief creative officer.

The campaign is part of Dietz’s commitment to “bring the nostalgia of our products to consumers year round,” per executive vice president of brand strategy Lauren Eni Canseco.

Food giant Mars recently launched a trio of spots, with the charming M&Ms characters naively making the door-to-door rounds on Halloween. They don’t seem to realize they could be accosted by young hooligans on a sugar high, one neighbor tells them. Maybe eating a Snickers bar will help them make smarter choices, per the brand’s ongoing message.

The work, from agency BBDO, also includes videos based on sight gags and poor planning around oversized Halloween decorations. A massive skeleton figure meant for the outdoors wreaks havoc in a living room, and an animatronic zombie twerks suggestively after a shoddy assembly.

Calling to mind a famously terrifying film series, Snyder’s of Hanover has unleashed Pretzelface on an unsuspecting public. The character, meant as a playful take on Halloween folklore, comes from agency partner Leo Burnett.

Pretzelface wields a meat cleaver and stalks through a darkened house, but don’t fret, he’s actually harmless. And he’s a skilled baker—his googly-eyed, candy-pretzel combos, fresh out of the oven, give the ad a sweet twist ending.