MUSE Gold

2024

Dare To Scare

Entrant Company

22Squared

Category

Integrated Marketing - Brand Transformation / Repositioning

Client's Name

Party City

Country / Region

United States

Party City, a long-standing perennial favorite for party supplies and celebrations, was in danger of losing its grip on its most profitable season, Halloween. They needed to reclaim their position as America’s go-to retailer by putting themselves (and their products) front and center during the spooky season. So they threw themselves into the spirit of Halloween to position themselves as an unexpectedly terrifying destination for all things Halloween.

Titled “Dare to Scare,” our campaign tapped into a core insight for the season: our Halloween-obsessed customers were driven by two things: 1. Bragging rights for their creativity and 2. Sharing their creativity online. We grabbed onto their social behavior and zoned in on the glee people feel when they succeed in scaring others. We filmed real-time moments of people shocking and terrifying unsuspecting friends, family, coworkers, and even their pets. Our campaign showcased some of the more outlandish (and frightening) uses for Party City products with three films: shocking unsuspecting elevator-goers in “Hellevator,” jump-scare decorations in “Scopaesthesia,” and waiting room mayhem in “Contagion.” The talent for the videos were all unsuspecting people hired to participate in “market research” and then were surprised (and delighted!) with terrifying scenes using Party City products. Party City didn’t just dare others to scare people, Party City dared to scare the world and showcased the breadth of their offering while they did it.

Credits

Party City SVP, Marketing & Digital
Shannon Symalla
Party City Digital Media Manager
Priyanka Ghodasara
22Squared Chief Creative Officer
Toygar Bazarkaya
22Squared Executive Creative Director
Della Mathew
22Squared Head of Production
Zamile Vilakazi
22Squared Group Business Director
Austen Tully
22Squared Strategy Director
Patrick Lorentz
22Squared Sr. Copywriter
Emma Murphy
22Squared Director of Business Affairs
Danielle Ivicic
22Squared Jr. Art Director
Jeremiah Adeola
22Squared Account Supervisor
Abbye Rhodes
22Squared Creative Head of Social
Rocio Alvarado
22Squared Sr. Art Director
Ryan Bailey
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