6 of the best Halloween car campaigns

Which manufacturers hit the nail on the head with their Halloween campaigns and which were just witchful thinking? 

Right, now we've got the terrible puns out of the way (though we can't promise there won't be more), let's get on with it. 

Our favourite brands and manufacturers outdo themselves every year when creatively celebrating holidays and special occasions through eye-catching advertising. 

Halloween is no exception, and car brands take advantage of the spookier season to scare, poke fun at, or even rile up the competition. We’ve had a look through the archives of Halloweens-past and dug up some of our favourites from across the globe. 

From the informative, to the funny, to the downright scandalous, we've gathered six of the best Halloween car campaigns for your viewing pleasure.

BMW USA

"Now every car can dress up as its favourite superhero." 

The rivalry between BMW and Mercedes-Benz is well known. 

Both German, both premium, both stacked with some of the best cars around, whether you're after a zippy little hatch or an SUV that can cart around your entire family with space to spare.

But rather than ignore this rivalry, BMW decided to embrace it with this clever ad in which they 'dress' a Mercedes up as its favourite superhero. 

You guessed it, it's a BMW. 

However, this little bit of banter didn't go completely in their favour, and Daimler responded with a biting remark. Something along the lines of "scary costume... especially that radiator grille!"

Ouch. We'll send you some burn gel BMW, just in case you need it.

Mercedes-Benz

"Unofficial servicing can be dangerous"

Whilst perhaps not as witty as the previous campaign, we still love this ad brought out by Mercedes-Benz. 

It was part of a series of images that transformed everyday tools into scary shadows, highlighting the perils of bypassing main dealers and authentic parts when servicing.

Plus, they speak with credibility. 

There are always perils associated with non-approved servicing. They can actually increase repair costs and ultimately worsen the deprecation value of the vehicle. This is why we recommend you always use approved manufacturer servicing and parts for your lease car. 

It means that your manufacturer warranty remains valid, and you'll avoid extra fees at the end of your lease term.

Read more about our vehicle maintenance packages - it's the easiest way to keep your vehicle serviced at approved garages for a set monthly fee (saving you a lot of hassle). 

Hiding a valuable message in a fun campaign? We've doffed our proverbial cap to you, Mercedes. 

SKODA

"The moment has come to face the monster"

SKODA came up with this spooky graphic a few years ago, and behind it was another serious message. 

Their focus was to help those suffering from amaxaphobia - the fear of being in, or riding in, a vehicle. While we're not sufferers of this ourselves (we make very good passenger princesses, as well as drivers), we applaud SKODA for doing something a little bit different and genuinely trying to help those who do find themselves afraid of being in a car.

Just another reason why SKODA remains one of our favourite - and most sensible, coming a long way from their hot hatch days of yore - manufacturers.

SEE ALSO: Drive with us: Test driving the SKODA Kamiq

Honda

"Cavernous!"

What better way to show off the boot capacity of one of your cars than with a load of bats and an apt play on words? 

As you know by now, even the most questionable puns get our vote. In fact, the more questionable the better, as far as we're concerned.

We know the Honda Fit in the UK as the trusty Honda Jazz, and the stats speak for themselves: this not-so-compact hatchback offers 1614L of boot space with the seats down.

So, if a cavernous boot is on your wishlist for your next lease car, don't hide from our latest Honda Jazz lease deals. Now, it's not quite the Batmobile, but it is a more affordable option, we're sure.

Batman mask - and Christian Bale - not included. Sorry.

MINI

"BOO!"

Listen, sometimes you just have to take your advertising right back to basics. 

And nothing screams basic at Halloween more than a MINI hatchback with a sheet over it saying ‘BOO’. 

Simple, funny, effective - and we love it.

This Halloween ad was produced as a part of a series of similar visuals that also included an orange backlit MINI with the phrase "Save a pumpkin, carve the road." Combined, this campaign sought to play on the visceral reactions shared between Halloween frights and test-driving your perfect car.

'Goosebumps' and 'chills' were certainly relevant to our own MINI test drives...

SEE ALSO: Our review of the Mini Cooper S Hatchback 

Greenpeace (VW)

"Trick. No Treat."

So, this one is not technically an ad created by VW themselves, but it certainly got a lot of attention. 

In terms of controversy, this tops the lot.

This ad from Greenpeace came out after that emission scandal. Yeah, you know the one.

And well, whilst we won’t pass comment on the technicalities, we feel its creativity bags its place on our top list.

Any one up for some light pumpkin carving? We're doing a Carparison themed one.

So these were some of our favourite Halloween ads of years gone by. 

Did any jump out at you? 

Okay, that really was the last pun, we promise. 

Happy Halloween! And we can't wait to see what our beloved manufacturers come up with next...