Coca-Cola Ditches Horror Rentals for Fanta Haunted Universe

Coca-Cola has been renting horror equity for two Halloweens, using licensed characters from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse. However, this year, the company is taking a different approach with its Fanta Haunted Universe campaign, which features four original characters created in-house.

The Fanta Haunted Universe includes Haystacks, Drayk, Howlie, and Franx, who will appear on various Fanta flavors. In contrast, Ghost Face from the Scream films will be featured on Fanta Orange and Orange Zero Sugar, although it's unclear who licensed him.

Coca-Cola has not disclosed any budget or market list for the campaign, but it has partnered with entertainment studio GRAiL to bring the characters to life. Ibrahim Khan, global vice president of marketing at Fanta, says the brand is 'dead serious about Halloween' and views this as a move from collaborator to creator.