Millions of Americans (over 176 million) celebrate Halloween. And the biggest part of Halloween is the trick-or-treating...The problem is that nearly everyone returns home with tons of candy they don't want. In fact, according to a MediaGenic study commissioned on behalf of Reese's, 90% of Americans have traded or wished they could trade their unwanted candy on Halloween, with 4 out of 5 of those Americans either trading or wanting to trade for a Reese’s. Reese's is the most-wanted candy, and literally never disappoints. So we set out to create a disruptive Halloween experience that would drive preference, conversation, and love for Reese's during candy's biggest day of the year.

Who better to solve the only real problem with Halloween (bad candy) than America's most loved candy. And since we know everyone always prefers a Reese's, we created "The Candy Converter," a one-of-a kind machine that allowed trick-or-treaters to "convert" their unwanted candy into candy they actually want– Reese's. Free to use, we intercepted trick-or-treaters and gave let them unload their unwanted candy.

Insight: Most people are dissatistfied with their candy haul on Halloween, so we proposed a solution that only Reese's could promise - a trade for something better. And, in doing so, Reese's unapologetically stole shares from competitors and defiantly staked its claim as the king of Halloween.

Key Message: Reese’s saved Halloween by swapping the candy America DOESN’T LIKE for the candy they LOVE.

Target Audience: Candy-hungry trick-or-treaters

Creation & distribution of Assets: The story was pre-seeded with converter renderings and a promise of what was to come, videos and photos of trick-or-treater reactions (shot during a soft launch in Tarrytown). With early buy-in from reporters and an exclusive with Delish, the story took on a life of its own hitting mid-morning on Monday, October 29th and becoming a viral success in less than 72 hours making all major newsfeeds across the country with brand-provided assets.

The Reese’s Candy Converter debuted the weekend before Halloween in The Sleepy Hollow Halloween Parade in Tarrytown in order to create key assets that would drive the story. New York served as the backdrop of all shared content and the infamous New York City Halloween parade offered a familiar location for media to quote in their stories. With Halloween falling on a Wednesday, every hour of the news cycle was imperative to the brand’s success in such a short timeframe. The team pre-seeded the story with converter renderings and a promise of what was to come, must-see videos and photos of trick-or-treater reactions and functional candy magic. With early buy-in from reporters and an exclusive with Delish, the story took on a life of its own hitting mid-morning on Monday, October 29th and becoming a viral success in less than 72 hours, making all major newsfeeds across the country.