Serving the rising consumption of microdramas (one-to-three-minute episodes of mobile-first serialised video entertainment, see Retail’s Micro-Entertainment Marketing Boom), beauty, fast food and tech brands are using horror tropes to create of-the-moment episodic ad campaigns. The most notable harness Gen Z’s institutional scepticism – read The New Youthhood: Anti-Establishment Engagement – via an anti-corporate-gatekeeping appearance from a chief executive and surveillance society warnings.

Asking fans to prove their dedication to its brand – see Cultish Marketing Comms in The New Youthhood: Devotional Directives for how brands are stoking a (tongue-in-cheek) cultlike edge – American snack brand Pringles’ provocative campaign plays on its own funereal brand lore. It also offers cut-through with the 76% of global consumers who feel that few brands really stand out (VML, 2026).

Acknowledging the 60% of 13- to 39-year-old North Americans who are rewatching their favourite shows from childhood, shrewd brands are creating advertising campaigns harking back to classic TV series and working with studios to reboot renowned horror programming. This melding of comfort watching with horror speaks to twin Gen Z desires. For more, see The New Youthhood: Indulgence Agendas.  

Mars-owned British chocolate bar brand Twix is marrying Halloween with Christmas. This follows the vogue for Summerween, a season-blending ‘holiday’ that featured on American cartoon Gravity Falls in 2012 and exploded in popularity in 2024/25 – sustained this year – thanks to viral social media posts. It has attracted 2.9 billion views across TikTok (Exolyt, 2026).

With Americans increasingly believing that Halloween is as much for adults as it is for children (see stats below), smart lingerie and cannabis brands are embracing a celebration once seen as the preserve of candy and snack giants. The best mine the psychological nature of horror or present their product as a solution.