Halloween Is ‘Gay Christmas,’ and Grindr Wants to Own It

Grindr is staking its claim on Halloween with a party for the holiday also known as “gay Christmas.” On Thursday (Oct. 22), the LGBTQ+ social app will host its third Pleasure Ball in New York City, a Halloween party and costume contest that Grindr hopes will become the “gay rival to the Met Gala,” according to chief marketing officer Tristan Pineiro. The event, which has grown from about 400 guests in 2024 to a capacity of 700 this year, is central to Grindr’s push to be associated with Halloween. “For us and our community, Halloween is kind of gay Christmas,” Pineiro told ADWEEK. “It makes perfect sense to turn up at Halloween, because it’s where our audiences are.” For this year’s event, which has a retro, sci-fi theme of “Future Lovers,” Grindr has brought on three brand partners: Pernod Ricard’s Absolut, Lyft, and Back Market. That’s up from two last year: Pernod Ricard and Alice Mushrooms. Pineiro said interest in the event from both partners and attendees has grown since the first Pleasure Ball. Next year, he forecasts about 1,000 attendees. “The party in itself is great, but from a brand point of view, the value we see is the amplification around it" on social media, he said. Halloween's significance The Pleasure Ball is an example of how Grindr is focusing more on experiential marketing as it aims to transform its image from a gay hookup app to a social networking platform—what the brand calls “the global gayborhood in your pocket.” Over the summer, Grindr hosted a surprise Madonna concert in New York’s Times Square to celebrate the pop star’s new album, and it went on a bus tour through Europe complete with giveaways, a photo booth, and performances from DJs and drag queens. Halloween is a valuable event to brands generally, with U.S. consumer spending on the holiday expected to reach $13.5 billion in 2026, compared with the record $13.1 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Halloween is an opportunity for brands to bring audiences “joyful escapism,” said Pineiro. Benjamin Cooper, Tristan Pineiro, Peyton Miller “We’re living in spooky season 12 months of the year with everything happening in real life and the news,” he said. “A brand that can amplify and provide some of that joy, relief, fun, and sense of getting back to your free, young self can only be a great thing.” The holiday’s meaning has particular resonance for the queer community, who “maybe growing up had to pretend to be someone we’re not,” Pineiro said. “We’re inverting that story by taking control of being someone we’re not," he continued. "I think our community has claimed the Halloween season as their own. It’s a joyful, celebratory season to be whoever we want to be.” ‘Brands are missing out’ Pineiro has previously told ADWEEK that some brands are hesitant to partner with Grindr because of its origins as a hookup app. That stigma lingers, he said, but it’s also gotten worse thanks to the wider rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives among many brands. “The mistake is seeing the [LGBTQ+] community as just a DEI, box-ticking community," Pineiro said. "The audience we serve is an educated, affluent, decision- and trend-making community. A lot of brands are missing out by being nervous to associate with us and other gay and queer brands.” But the community is paying attention, he said: “Those who stepped away we will remember, and those who have stuck with us we’ll remember.” Pineiro advised brands that do want to get involved with the LGBTQ+ community to “do your homework.” “It’s not about seeing something and jumping on it, but seeing and getting involved in the right things in ways that are additive to that trend or conversation. There’s no point jumping in if you have nothing to say or add,” he said. The Pleasure Ball follows that approach. “It’s no news to any gay person that Halloween’s a big deal, but it’s about understanding that, adding something new, and elevating it,” Pineiro said.

Creativity x Culture

Halloween Is ‘Gay Christmas,’ and Grindr Wants to Own It

CMO Tristan Pineiro on the Pleasure Ball, the pull of Halloween, and why brands that overlook queer audiences are missing out

UNLOCK FULL ACCESS

Brittaney Kiefer

Creativity

Amid Turnaround, Victoria’s Secret Turns Its Fashion Show Into a Fan Movement

Ads of the Week: 13 Campaigns That Caught Our Eye, From Chipotle to Pringles

Why Branded Entertainment Goes Unwatched and What To Do About It

The 2026 Halloween Ads Worth Screaming About

Polymarket Taps Kathryn Bigelow to Court a Wider Audience in Midterm Ad Blitz

After Torching a Rimowa, John Summit Becomes Away’s Chief Destruction Officer

Pringles Offers One Die-Hard Fan a Final Resting Place in a Branded Urn

Chipotle Drops a 'Big A** Bag' to Make Group Dining a Bigger Deal

Aura Wants to Be the Social Network for People You Love, Not Just a Gift for Grandma