Brands Dictate What We Wear... On Halloween

On a college campus you expect to see a little bit of everything when it comes to creative (or not so creative) Halloween costumes. The holiday has the reputation for giving women the green light to wear a little less than is normally socially acceptable. Wearing lingerie in public is "OK" on Halloween (I guess), but wait, you're a mouse? The Last time I checked, that is not what a mouse looks like! 


This year, however, I was pleasantly surprised when this post by AdAge opened my eyes to a very different aspect of this spooky, and sometimes eerily bare, Halloweekend -- brands! On Halloween, AdAge tweeted, "Happy Halloween! Are you wearing a branded costume? Send us a pic!" and received various replies... including one from me! 

Yes, yes, I was the Energizer Bunny. There I was, thinking I was so creative, but then I scrolled down on @AdAge and found another Energizer Bunny! What are the chances?! It is totally expected to come across similarly dressed trick-or-treaters when you dress up as a policeman or cat... but another Energizer Bunny? I was shocked, and yes, a little bit upset, but I quickly bounced back to fully soak in what this truly meant. Brands have completely taken over our lives, and this sentiment can be proven by how people dress for Halloween. Marketers should definitely use this measurement tool to help determine the visibility and popularity of their brands. Progressive was probably the most effective in this activity because they used Halloween and consumers to generate awareness for their brand. On their website they gave visitors precise instructions on how to dress like Flo -- down to the shade of Mac lipstick she wears!


A few of the branded costumes, besides Flo, that I came across this past weekend included Bud Light Limes and Absolut Bottles. But the best costume by far, and AdAge agrees, was the Words with Friends app. I'm sure Apple is proud.


Another costume trend that has particularly gained momentum these past few years is YouTube. No, people do not dress up as YouTube itself, although that could be a great idea (write that down for next year), but as characters from viral videos. People love being current, and what better way to be current than to dress up like Sophia Grace and Rosie? Who are they? Check it out.

I saw about 5 different pairs of girls dressed as these Nicki Minaj fans. This YouTube video has over 1 million views and has only been up since October 5th. Sophia Grace is a very talented 5-year-old and was featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show for this video. I wonder if she knows that college students dressed up as her for Halloween? If not, her mom might want to keep it a secret for now. 5 years old is a little early to have an ego. 


POGS,
AKtually Ashley