Top Halloween-Embracing Brands
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not talking about the Christmas season, I’m talking about Halloween! Since my birthday is November 1st, I have always held October 31st close to my heart and expressed my enthusiasm for All Hallows Eve with costumes, parties and seasonal treats. This year I am focusing my ghostly efforts on compiling a list of brands that have embraced all things spooky by creating products, hosting contests or running marketing campaigns that were all inspired by Halloween.
So why do brands bother to spend money, time and effort on holiday-themed campaigns and products? The holidays, Halloween included, offers brands a way to infuse their personalities into these joyous times and remind customers why they chose that brand in the first place. Brittany Burdoine-Lewis of leapfroginteractive says, “Embracing the holidays your audience enjoys establishes an understanding of your target customers and presents your fans with something fun to keep them engaged with your brand.” Take a look below and check out how brands like Kraft, Progressive and Honda are showing their love for Halloween this year!
Kraft:
Nothing says Halloween like brains, blood and green goo. Food and beverage giant Kraft has embraced all of these ghoulish traditions and packaged them up for sale. The beloved Kraft Cadbury eggs take a turn for the rotten during the Halloween season- the white cream filling of a traditional Cadbury Creme egg is replaced with green and white creamy goo for the Cadbury Screme Eggs (what a witty play on words!) To engage the more DIY crowd, Kraft gave away brain-shaped gelatin molds, complete with an 8-page recipe book, for only the cost of shipping and handling in 2011. If vampire tendencies are more of your speed during Halloween, be sure to pick up some Kool-Aid Ghoul-Aid. This dark red, “scary blackberry” flavored beverage is sure to provide your kids with enough of a sugar rush to trick-or-treat until the sun comes up!
Progressive:
For the past two years, Progressive has endorsed a “Dress like Flo” campaign, encouraging customers everywhere to don their best red lipstick and perky brunette hair styles. Progressive has even created a microsite that describes Flo’s wardrobe, down to the exact shade of lipstick for her infamous red smile. Of course the microsite doesn’t fail to deliver on ways to engage with the Progressive brand including Facebook “Like” buttons, customer service phone numbers and pop-up ads highlighting promotional insurance rates.
Honda:
Not all Halloween promotions are just about the brand; some companies go the extra mile to shine the candlelight on their fans. In 2010, Honda ran a Jack- o’-Lantern Facebook contest where fans carved Honda-inspired pumpkins. To share these carvings with the world , Honda created a specific Facebook photo album so any Facebook fan could comment on which pumpkin was their favorite and share with own Honda stories.
What are some of your favorite Halloween-embracing brands? Or do you say bah-humbug to the commercialization of Halloween? We want to know your thoughts!
Contributed by Lily Brock
Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!
It was a slogan made popular in the '90s by our favorite paper-bag head cartoon, Bart Simpson. Whether it was Nelson the bully, Homer, or a chocolate-craving high school student that will remain nameless, everyone wanted his crispety, crunchety, peanut buttery Butterfinger! Bart went to extreme measures to assure that no one swiped it but sadly, Bart and his iconic slogan were swipped from television in 2001.
Nestle Butterfinger has brought the slogan back in full force. You can now "train" with the Butterfinger Defense League to make certain no one is swiping your favorite peanut butter bar. Sir Mix-A-Lot serenades you with "I Like Big Butterfingers" while the League, comprised of Lou Ferrigno, Erik Estrada & Charisma Carpenter teach you how to defend yourself from muggers that might make off with your confectionary treats.
Campy? Yes. Do I have to go out immediately and buy a Butterfinger? Maybe. Good for at least one laugh out loud moment? Most definitely.
Contributed by: Jennifer Rodden
Candy Brands: Cadbury Daydream
Can you guess which company is the parent company for the following brands: Chiclets, Sour Patch Kids, Mentos, Trident, Swedish Fish and Halls cough drops?
It’s Cadbury. Yes, that Cadbury – the Cadbury that makes the crème eggs which fly off the shelves around Easter each year. Cadbury’s vast portfolio includes chocolate, gum and candy, and approximately 200 brands.
Day dream: I wonder if a visit to the Cadbury factory would involve a milk chocolate river with Swedish Fish swimming along as well as Sour Patch Kids playing pranks on visitors then making amends. That would be funny. Note to self – don’t sample any Chiclets that might taste like blueberry pie and ice cream. Do you think the four dentists that always pick Trident get to visit the factory any time they want. That’s what you get fifth dentist. Wait, what was I doing?
So as you can see, it’s no wonder that Cadbury is a beloved brand worldwide.
Candy Brands: Wonka
As you can probably guess, the Willy Wonka Candy Company began as a tie-in to the release of the film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Breaker Confections licensed the name “Willy Wonka” in 1971 to capitalize on the film’s merchandising potential then changed its name to Willy Wonka Brands in 1980. Nestlé then bought the company in 1988 and has owned it ever since. It is now known simply as Wonka.
The official WWW (Willy Wonka website) is wonka.com, but, much like the elusive Candy Man himself, there’s not a lot of information to be gleaned regarding the company. You can, however, learn what candy’s out now and what’s coming up next, or you can paint pictures using Nerds in their NERDoodler studio.
Wonka has perhaps some of the most recognizable non-chocolate candy varieties: Everlasting Gobstoppers®, Fruit Runts®, SweeTarts®, PixyStix®, LIK-M-AID® Fun Dip, Laffy Taffy®, Spree® and BottleCaps®. You can also find Wonka® Bars in Europe mostly but sadly no Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.
Ah, Willy Wonka. Bless him and his sweet, sweet candy. The company’s slogan captures our thoughts exactly: What will he think of next?
Candy Brands: Tootsie
All I want is a piece of chocolate candy that won't melt easily in the heat ... lucky for me, and millions of other candy consumers, Leo Hirshfield had the same idea! Hirshfield founded Tootsie Roll Industries in a small shop in New York City. The Tootsie Roll candy got its name after the nickname of his daughter, Clara "Tootsie" Hirshfield.
Originating in 1896, The Tootsie Roll Industries is now based in Chicago, Illinois as one of the country's largest candy companies. Among some of Tootsie's most popular candy names are:Read more
Candy Brands: Brach's
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What would Halloween be without candy corn? It has been enjoyed for over 100 years. According to Brach's, the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans buy enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle around the Earth 4.5 times. Brach's candy pumpkin, known by the trademark name "Mellow Cream" is the most popular candy pumpkin. They are popular both for their unique texture and for being fat free. Candy pumpkins are made using the same process used to make candy corn. The ingredients include corn syrup, real honey, and sugar.
Amusingly, candy pumpkins played a role in the U.S. Implementation of Daylight Saving Time. Since the 1960s, candy makers had wanted to get the trick-or-treat period covered by Daylight Saving. They believed if children had an extra hour of daylight, they would have more time to collect candy, which would boost candy sales. During the 1985 U.S. Congressional hearings on Daylight Saving, the candy industry went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator, hoping to win a little favor. Soon, Daylight Saving Time was extended through the first Sunday in November.
By: Ashley Popham
Candy Brands: The Foreign Candy Company
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From the creators of Rips Licorice, Eiffel Bon Bons, Big Fat Hissee Fit, and many more, I present to you… The Foreign Candy Company, Inc. This brand thrives on delivering fun, flavorful, and unique candies that are loved by both kids and adults.
The story behind this brand is one that began in 1976 when Peter W. De Yager stumbled onto an overnight success. Yager, who was a high school German teacher at the time this adventure began, started taking his students on trips abroad. After one trip to a gummy bear factory in Germany, the students decided to sell their candy as a fundraiser to raise money for the next year’s trip. It turns out that selling foreign candy was a huge success, so Yager decided to begin selling the candy across the country.Read more
Candy Brands: Ferrara Pan
Friends and family will likely remember "Paula's Red Hot Marathon of 2006." No, it wasn't a fiery run; it was my shamless order of three cases of Red Hots direct from the manufacturer to be shipped to my door, and the consumption that ensued. I'm blaming the new baby hormones.
Red Hots have always been my candy of choice. There's something about that hot flavor getting stuck in my teeth that epitomizes how a candy should behave. And let me clarify: Red Hots are the BRAND; the generics are called cinnamon imperials. I've had the knock-offs, and believe me, there is only one Red Hot.
Ferrara Pan is the creator of the Red Hot, and the company brand has an interesting history. Created as a namesake for the founder, Salvatore Ferrara, Ferrara Pan was founded in 1908 in Chicago, Illinois. The word "pan" in the company name indicates that some of the candy they make is "panned". This process involves building candy pieces from single units, such as grains of sugar, nuts or candy centers, tossing them in revolving pans while adding the flavor, color and other candy ingredients. This process continues until the pieces become the desired size. Finally, the candy gets a high polish with an edible vegetable wax, which gives it an attractive appearance.
In terms of branding, the company has retained a functional, yet personality-infused continuity with its line of products: Red Hots, LemonHead, Atomic FireBall, Jaw Busters, Boston Baked Beans, Black Forest Gummies, and Ferrara Chocolates. With the exception of the Boston Baked Beans, I can look at their candy lineup and know exactly what I'm getting.
Check out the company's virtual tours of "How Panned Candy Is Made." And if you see a box (or bag) of Red Hots at the convenience store, pick one up for me.
Candy Brands: HARIBO
Maybe it's our sense of whimsy ... Maybe it's our roots as hunter/gatherers ... whatever the explanation, whether you prefer a handful of cheesy goldfish or a fresh box of animal crackers, there is no denying the fun in biting into something that could bite you back.
The gummi bear is arguably the king of critter-shaped snacks, and HARIBO, a German confectionary company founded in 1920, proudly distinguishes itself from the candy masses as the original creator of these malleable mammals. Today, HARIBO is the biggest manufacturer of gummy and jelly candies in the world.
The gummi bear, (known as Gummibar or rubber bear in German), was created after World War II and introduced in the 1960s under the brand Gold-Bears. An instant success, the product has since seen several flavor and shape variations, with brand extensions such as Snack-packs, Roulettes, and Happy Cola. More intriguing sub-brands like Starmix, Tangfastics, Kiddies Supermix, Maoam and Strawbs can be found abroad. The candy even inspired a late 80s television show, Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (though I personally found that to be the least palatable of the brand's many extensions).
Although Trolli and many others have created formidable gummi competition, the original Gold Bears, with their iconic gold, red and black packaging, have dominated their space for a half-century and show no signs of slowing down. After all, as the tagline says, "kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of HARIBO."
And if you were wondering, there is a reason why HARIBO appears in all-caps; the name is an acronym--borrowing the first two letters of the founder's first and last name, Hans Riegel, as well as the first two letters of the location of the corporate headquarters in Bonn, Germany.
Contributed by: Maghan Cook