Halloween and Election Day fall just days apart from one another, so naturally, we see some overlap between them. Last month, we talked about political advertisements and the balance your brand should strive for when engaging in the political discussion. One of the nuggets of advice offered up was to stay neutral or stay out of politics for your brand. While it may work for certain brands to choose a side, it’s best practice to not offend. A successful strategy for some, however, is to pick on both candidates, or just the election in general.
A specialty candy shop in Denton, Texas, Atomic Candy, did just that and poked some fun at this election season while also tying it into their brand. The ads feature both Senator Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump all spook-ified with the caption, “Happy Halloween. The Second Scariest Day This Year.”
These ads were a hit on social media, even though they were initially developed as posters for in-store. Many Instagrammed the political posters in the shop and tagged the Atomic Candy location, which is excellent free exposure for the company. Atomic Candy also shared them on Facebook, receiving over 200 reactions (none of which were negative) and over 25 shares. Not too shabby for a small, local business.
It may also be smart for Halloween-relevant brands to try incorporating politics into their advertising this time of year because politics are always used in Halloween costumes. This year, political costumes are the third most common costume choice for adults 35 years and older. People have been dressing up as political figures since Richard Nixon, which, to this day, is still a Halloween hit. However, just like mentioned in our last blog, it might only make sense for certain brands, in calculated ways, to add politics to their marketing.
All in all, it’s best Atomic Candy went the neutral route and made the print advertisement about both candidates. When you’re going to mix your brand and politics, taking an impartial stance is seemingly the best way to go. What’s important is to do it in an artistic, eye-catching way, like these posters.
Remember that with anything in marketing, you should view things objectively and always be creative in a tasteful way. For help with your own business, contact the superheroes at Transformation Marketing!