Fanta’s Long Game for Halloween Starts With Creators and Original Characters

On Halloween, when most people are thinking about chocolate and candy, The Coca-Cola Company wants them to consider what they’re going to wash it all down with. For nearly a decade, Fanta’s marketing team has sought to make the orange soft drink synonymous with the spookiest night of the year, inspired by Coca-Cola’s own festive long-standing connection to Christmas. What began as small regional activations across North America, Europe, and Latin America culminated in the brand’s first global Halloween campaign in 2024, “Wanta Fanta.” In addition to a 60-second hero ad, the campaign included a collaboration with Skydance (then-Warner Bros.) that featured the cast of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on six limited edition cans. “The conversation went from ‘Will Fanta do Halloween next year?’ to ‘What will Fanta do for Halloween next year?’” Ibrahim Khan, global vice president of marketing for Fanta at The Coca-Cola Company, told ADWEEK. After a 2025 collaboration with Universal Studios and Blumhouse that put iconic horror film characters like Chucky and M3gan on its cans went viral, Fanta has doubled down on Halloween again this year. This time, it’s created its own IP and cinematic universe, supported by creator collaborations and a sweepstakes with AMC Theaters. While Khan acknowledged the risks of creating new IP versus borrowing from established cultural icons, Fanta isn’t looking for short-term lift; its Halloween goals are built for the long haul. “The last couple of years we've been relying purely on collaborations, on partnerships, which have worked very well for both sides,” Khan said. “We needed to have a way of building our own properties that we can invest in for many, many, many decades to come.” Fanta’s Haunted Universe The groundwork for Fanta’s 2026 Halloween campaign was laid in 2025, when before spending a single media dollar, the brand tracked more than 1 billion organic impressions on social when the limited-edition cans were released, Khan said. By the end of Halloween, Fanta tallied 8 billion impressions and 10% market growth in the U.S. “They [creators and fans] made more than 100,000 ads for us,” Khan said. “We made one. They made 100,000, and none of them were sponsored or paid.” That success led to this year’s bet on developing three original characters as part of the “Haunted Fanta Universe,” created in collaboration with WPP OpenX, entertainment studio GRAiL, and ForPeople. Haystacks, Drayk, and Howlie will each feature on a can with their own original flavor, and appear in live and digital experiences, along with collectible packs. More importantly, they’ll make appearances in creator videos. To spread the word, Fanta recruited a number of influencers, some of whom will dress up as Fanta’s characters. In one video, creator Payton King transforms into the werewolf Howlie—complete with sunglasses and a varsity jacket—to go into a haunted mansion with the other characters. “The mic has shifted from us as brands to consumers on social platforms,” Khan said. “The opinion about a brand and the experience built around a brand only matters if people talk about it, and that's where creators come in.” Rather than having to start from scratch each year through a new entertainment studio partnership, Fanta can continue to recycle the Halloween IP it’s already developed while tapping into creator trends, Khan said, who teased that more characters will be developed in the coming weeks and years. Khan said this year's Halloween effort acknowledges that creators are behind today’s biggest cultural moments; even when they aren’t directly involved in a campaign, they often carry the seeds of inspiration for a larger idea. That was the case with Fanta’s collab with Tropical Smoothie Cafe to make its first-ever Halloween-themed smoothie this year, inspired by the “dirty soda” trend on social media. For the long-term Data suggests that Fanta’s efforts are starting to pay off. Morning Consult found that buzz and purchase consideration for Fanta were higher among parents than the general population in October, though both figures declined slightly from September. Still, Fanta’s elevated scores among parents mean it is well-positioned to meet its target audience for Halloween, according to a spokesperson. While the final sales numbers for this year’s campaign aren’t in yet, Khan said it has already exceeded last year’s benchmark, despite the bet on unknown IP. “We’re already out of stock in many markets, and there's still two weeks to go till Halloween,” Khan said. “I don't necessarily see it as a good problem to have, but it’s certainly a good indication of how successful the program has been.” With four days left until Halloween, Khan said there are still a number of activations waiting to be unleashed. A haunted Fanta truck will be on the roads in Brazil. Fanta is also participating in a few Comic Con events and will soon unveil a comic book of its own featuring its new characters. While Khan acknowledged that building a long-term brand association with Halloween will take time, he’s willing to make the investment. “‘Trying’ is the operative word,” he said.

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Fanta’s Long Game for Halloween Starts With Creators and Original Characters

The Coca-Cola Company brand is developing original characters to tie its orange soda to the holiday for years to come

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Christopher Cicchiello

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