Halloween has become a ‘thing’.
This weekend I’ve seen more pumpkins than I did in my entire childhood (on a farm with veg garden), more face painted, lingerie (and laundry) clad men than is good for any one and more ghost shaped chocolates than even I could eat.
When I was a kid (which isn’t that long ago) you’d only hear “what are you wearing” or start to see a few skull sweets and pumpkins the week prior. But now, we see them for at least a month in advance before having them literally shoved in our faces the weekend of.
Is it because we really love pumpkins? I doubt it: they’re a vegetable which Brits aren’t not known to be particularly fond of.
Did the recession force kids to trick or treat because their parents wouldn’t buy them sweets? I doubt it: Brits prudish attitude would prevent them fro ever being so forthright. Are rags and face paint part of the backlash against mainstream beauty? I doubt this too: even ‘alternatives’ have limits.
So what has fuelled the rise & RISE of Halloween? Marketing.
Cards, outfits, novelty sweets only available for a limited amount of time. How could we possibly resist? Brands know the value of scarcity in driving interest, the perception of cool and crucially making us want things. They also know how to associate their slimy skull sweets with people we think are seriously cool so we just have to go buy them for…for…for ourselves I guess. And crucially, brands now have the online, social world to push these messages through ensuring we think our friends are going to be Halloween-ing too so we have to join in and let’s face it, out do them.
But why now? Americanisation.
To me, the sudden adoption of Halloween is another indicator of the Americanisation of the UK. Everything they do, we copy. Sometimes well, sometimes with a British twist, sometimes not so well. Some adoptions I’m for: decent burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, Black Friday. Some I’m not: donuts, cupcakes, suing culture… Britain’s trying pretty hard to do Halloween just as well as it’s big brother: pumpkins, bespoke adverts, pumpkins, novelty sweets, pumpkins, club nights, pumpkins, movie events, pumpkins, kids entertainment, pumpkins, sexy outfits, more pumpkins…
Yet despite Halloween having become a thing, working in marketing, having constant discourse with America and loving most of the above, I appear to have forgotten to celebrate Halloween.
I guess they have to do something with all the left over novelties. The benefits of decreased demand.
Contemplating why 