As The Drum reports, Burger King tapped American Horror Story director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon to helm a 60-second horror short as part of its new Halloween campaign “The Call.” Created with ad agency Dentsu Creative and production company Wild Gift Content, the marketing push supports Burger King’s seasonal Ghost Pepper Whopper and Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries menu items.
The spot was shot in the same remote California location as the Jeepers Creepers horror films, where the risk of snakes was high enough to warrant keeping a snake wrangler on standby, according to creatives involved with the campaign. The vehicle in the ad appeared on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Meanwhile, as Marketing Dive reports, Jack in the Box launched a 60-minute horror short of its own, “Feeding Time,” to promote its new Angry Monster Tacos menu item. The campaign includes a monster truck and was written by American Horror Story, Servant and Saw veterans Marcus Dunstan, Asha Michelle Wilson, Patrick Melton and Kara Lee Corthron; it was directed by Dunstan.
Elsewhere, McDonald’s signature Boo Buckets—Halloween-themed Happy Meal containers—have returned, as Nerdist reports. The options are Monster, Skeleton, Mummy and Vampire, the last of which being the chain’s first purple bucket since "the OG purple Boo Bucket,” it said.
As Ad Age reports, Burger King’s effort was born out of looking on TikTok in search of Gen Zers’ horror preferences. Burger King’s short also played in movie theaters ahead of select films, while Jack in the Box’s spot includes an Easter Egg to win free Monster Tacos on the Jack app, as USA Today reports.
“I love short films and I love horror, so I jumped at the chance . … I had a blast revisiting the genre for the first time since my (American Horror Story) days, and directing a horror short starring the Ghost Pepper Whopper," Gomez-Rejon said in a statement.