Halloween Horror Nights 31

NEVER GO ALONE | Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights guests tend to visit in couples and groups, leading us to the 2021 tagline, “Never Go Alone.” The success of the previous year’s campaign convinced us to expand on that same premise in 2022. Rather than illustrating the fate befalling individuals caught alone at the event, this year we showcased a stereotypical group of friends on their way to–and at–Halloween Horror Nights.

HORROR MOVIE & EVENT ARCHETYPES

Our creative team borrowed from familiar horror movie archetypes to create a group of fictional friends who represented a typical cross-section of Halloween Horror Nights attendees: A terrified screamer. A know-it-all skeptic. A narcissistic selfie-queen. A hungry snacker. A sickeningly affectionate “cringe couple.” A popular jock. A Halloween Horror Nights superfan.

Everyone who attends the event can identify with one or more of these figures… or knows somebody who’s a perfect match. The group starred, individually and together, in our series of promotional videos for the event. We named this group: “The Scream Squad.”

BRING YOUR SCREAM SQUAD

Each individual haunted house announcement teaser video introduced a different member of the Scream Squad (with an occasional cameo of another Scream Squad member to intertwine the narratives). As each house video premiered, fans became as invested in the story of the Scream Squad as they were in the event content itself, wondering who they would meet next and where the story was going.

In addition to video executions, we incorporated the Scream Squad into online, outdoor and other media to round out the campaign. Fans were captivated by the characters and eagerly awaited each appearance. Universal Orlando Resorts had never produced a Halloween Horror Nights campaign with such a broad narrative and extensive interweaving of characters like this before.

Ultimately, we revealed the final event 3-minute short film with all the Scream Squad members together at Halloween Horror Nights, drifting off alone and being picked off one-by-one by each of this year’s top horror icons.

SCARY GOOD RESULTS

This year’s campaign was one of the most ambitious and successful ever. And the positive reaction ensured that both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida’s events were filled with countless real “Scream Squads” of terrified guests.

Shareable scares quickly went viral as announcement videos and other content was released, quickly racking up more than 10 million views across social media. The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare announcement video was retweeted by the artist multiple times, as well as highlighted in Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone articles. We also had record-breaking online ticket sales.

Chris Surrey, Executive Creative Director
Todd Wineland, ACD/Art Director
Morgana Wingate, Sr. Art Director
Louise Cooper, Sr. Copywriter
Derek Deal, Asst. Director & Motion Graphics
Aven Pitts, Director/Cinematographer of Making of HHN
Dorian Cantor, Video Editor

Patrick Cummings, Film Director
Tobia Tempi, Cinematographer
Lionel Coleman, Executive Producer
Matt Shih, Creative Director
Norma Sardy, Line Producer
Timothy Bailey, Photographer
Pixeldust Studios, CGI & Special Effects