Ghost of Promos Past: Vintage Fast-Food Halloween Promotional Products

By Jim Hollis 

At ASI, we’re always looking for creative ways to share stories of the promotional products industry and its history, and with Halloween just around the corner, a question popped into my head: Why do promotional products and Halloween go together so seamlessly?

One of the best parts of being a promotional products professional is the ability to incorporate holiday and seasonal themes into your yearly strategy, and Halloween gives your brand a blank canvas for fun, inventive, odd, eye-catching and even frightful ways to be more playful with your campaigns. Halloween and promotional products work so well together because of their inherent similarities – companies hand out items to promote their brand like kids getting treats on Halloween night, after all. It’s no wonder that brands are so inspired to make a great impression during spooky season.

Making unique promo choices for Halloween is hardly a new phenomenon, so to learn more about the present Halloween promo landscape, I did some research into the ghosts of promos past.

The first innovation in Halloween promo came in the form of trick-or-treat bags, as brands attempted to replace the tried-and-true pillowcase method kids used to store and transport their candy. In an attempt to capture the attention of a young and hungry audience, brands like Orville Redenbacher released a line of bags in the 1980s as a cross-promotional tool for their bagged treats. And as public safety on Halloween night became a hotter topic a few years later, The National Crime Prevention Council featured their iconic mascot McGruff the Crime Dog on bags to promote safety tips.

Ultimately, their efforts fell flat. These paper products were single-use solutions looking to take the place of the time-tested pillowcase, so with their lack of versatility and microscopic shelf life (plus the integration of reusable, eco-friendly bags into the promo landscape years later), it’s understandable why this fad didn’t stick around long.

As my research continued, the origin of Halloween promos began to look more similar to what we experience today – glow-in-the-dark items, branded masks, customizable candy wrappers and local community costume contests have been industry staples for decades. But something unique kept coming up over and over again – fast food campaigns.

For a holiday that celebrates children indulging in delicious, convenient snacks, it makes perfect sense why fast-food companies wanted in on Halloween promo action in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. And as a purveyor of low-cost dining options, these restaurants were experts at turning budget promo items into increased sales.

Let’s take a look at the most creative uses of Halloween promos from some of the most recognizable brands in the world and see if we can learn a thing or two from their successes.

McDonald’s

The biggest name in dining worldwide had their hands all over the Halloween promo landscape in decades past. Considering many neighborhood McDonald’s became a hangout spot for kids pre- or post-trick-or-treating, it was advantageous for them to capture this cross-promotional opportunity with promos like the Halloween Boo Bucket, a popular happy meal container featuring ghost, goblin and jack-o-lantern designs.

Incorporating Halloween-themed toys into Happy Meals was always an effective strategy, including McNugget Buddies, chicken-nugget-shaped figures dressed in various spooky costumes. While not specifically a Halloween-themed giveaway, the summer release of the movie Batman Forever in 1995 was well timed for a late summer/early fall rollout of Batman collector’s mugs to inspire Halloween costumes.
Of course, McDonald’s also had the foresight to consider repeat business, as they branded Halloween-themed coupons for cheap menu items (small fries, ice cream cones, etc.) to get their eager clientele back in the store as quickly as possible.

Burger King

There are few things as iconic in the fast-food landscape as the paper crown from Burger King. It’s a simple yet effective promotional product that kids can construct themselves to wear many times, both inside the restaurant and when they get home. Unsurprisingly, Burger King took this concept a step further by introducing twists on the classic crown with artwork evoking ghosts, witches, bats and jack-o-lanterns. They even extended this idea a bit further with a Halloween mask of their (inadvertently spooky) mascot, the King.

Burger King also embraced trends set by McDonald’s, partnering with Universal Studios to give away figures of classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman.

Taco Bell

Taco Bell was one of the first brands to incorporate glow-in-the-dark items into their Halloween marketing in a move that’s proven to stand the test of time. Their glow-in-the-dark cups in the late 80s were a huge hit with kids of all ages and provided multi-use functionality on a product that gave them brand exposure long after Halloween was over.

Importantly, all of these restaurants understand the value of promos as valued keepsakes, encouraging patrons to return again and again to collect them all.

Wendy’s

Understanding that promoting their brand on Halloween might also mean that kids would be too full from candy to eat at their restaurants, Wendy’s developed an ingenious strategy to replace traditional Halloween candy with their iconic Frosty via a coupon they could redeem in store.

Their coupon booklets also contained other discounted or free menu items (small fries or a drink) to promote positive brand association and year-round visits.

Hardee’s

This under-the-radar chain scored a huge advertising deal with The California Raisins, a popular animated musical group that were merchandising giants in the 80s for Sun-Maid. Small figurines were included in their kids’ meals as a promotion for their Cinnamon ‘N’ Raisin biscuits, with different editions released between 1987-2001.

While it might be difficult for anyone under the age of 30 to imagine a group of stop-motion animated dried grapes penetrating the cultural zeitgeist, this weird yet influential band inspired plenty of Halloween costumes over the years.

KFC

With their signature menu item – a bucket of chicken – already resembling a Halloween basket, KFC was in a unique position among the fast-food giants to take advantage of Halloween promotions by creating useable treat-or-treat buckets decorated with ghosts, ghouls and other spooky seasonal artwork.

Do you have memories of your favorite Halloween promotions from your childhood? Are there brands today who have kept up with this tradition that you’ve taken note of? Let us know, and happy Halloween!