Halloween hasn’t always been the marketing juggernaut it is today. What started as a community celebration of costumes and candy has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry powered by pop culture, nostalgia, and influencer-driven trends. Brands now compete not just for shelf space, but for cultural relevance in October’s biggest moment of the year.
A Brief History of Halloween Marketing
In the early 1900s, Halloween was more about harvest festivals than high production value costumes. It wasn’t until the 1950s, when candy companies like Hershey’s and Mars began promoting “treat-sized” products, that Halloween took on its now-iconic candy identity. “Trick-or-treating” became mainstream, and with it came one of the most successful recurring sales moments in retail history.
By the 1980s, marketing began to shift from candy to costumes. The rise of TV and blockbuster movies changed everything. Kids (and adults) wanted to be their favorite characters from Star Wars, Ghostbusters, or ET. Costume makers learned that licensing was gold, and brands learned to leverage pop culture in new ways.
Fast forward to the 2000s, and Halloween became less about kids and more about cultural participation. Social media entered the scene, and suddenly costumes weren’t just worn—they were documented, shared, and judged. Marketing adapted accordingly. Brands leaned into virality. Makeup companies like NYX and Fenty built entire October campaigns around transformation and creativity, while candy giants leaned into nostalgia with limited-edition packaging and retro callbacks.
Pop Culture as a Marketing Engine
Today, pop culture drives nearly every Halloween trend. Search any social platform and you’ll find tutorials for “Barbenheimer” couples’ costumes or “Taylor Swift Eras” party themes. What’s changed is the speed of adaptation, marketers now pivot in real time. A viral moment in September can turn into a costume on shelves by October.
Even classic brands have embraced the trend. Reese’s and M&M’s use Halloween not only for product sales but as storytelling moments, launching limited flavors or cheeky short films that feel more like entertainment than advertising. Spirit Halloween, once a simple pop-up store, has become a meme-worthy icon of its own, recognized instantly when an empty storefront is spotted in August.
Why It Works
Halloween taps into three timeless marketing levers: nostalgia, participation, and reinvention. It’s one of the few holidays that invites everyone to play a part—whether by dressing up, decorating, or indulging in a favorite candy bar. Brands that succeed don’t just sell products; they sell the feeling of being part of the moment.
The best campaigns lean into humor, community, and identity. Whether it’s Skittles launching darkly funny “forbidden flavors” or Target curating costumes for pets, successful Halloween marketing walks the line between clever and relatable.
The Short of it
Halloween marketing is no longer confined to one night, it’s a full-season cultural event that grows more sophisticated every year. From bite-sized candies to blockbuster-inspired costumes, brands have learned to blend nostalgia with immediacy, tradition with trend.
What began as a night of neighborhood fun is now a celebration of creativity itself. And for marketers, that’s a treat worth studying.