So…what did you do to have a little fun?

Here are a couple of examples:

One of the many coffee shops that I prod now and then came up with this (among other things) for Halloween.

Note the R.I.P. sign, then check out the 2nd image.

Below in the hand of the chalk outline, a familiar green logo. Who could it be?

Wonder how many people commented about that when they got back to their office?

But it wasn’t just retail and restaurants getting into the act. Major colleges did too, like LSU who remade the Michael Jackson Thriller music video:

Good stuff and just a few of the creative examples I’ve come across this week.

PS: For those wondering about the highest adult spending holiday, it’s Valentine’s Day. Get a head start.

In 2007, Americans spent $5 billion on a holiday that most businesses ignore in their marketing plan.

Yep, I said IGNORE. I guess maybe they feel like the holiday is too childish to participate, or that it doesn’t seem right to use the theme of this holiday for a serious business like theirs. 5 billion dollars of adult spending is hardly childish.

Only 1 secular holiday – Valentine’s Day – generates more consumer spending than the holiday that gets ignored.

You might have guessed by now that the mysterious holiday is Halloween. You still have 3 weeks, so what would do you do?

Ask yourself a few questions to get yourself thinking about a promotion or ad campaign:

• Does your business involve reduction of fear?
• Is there anything scary about buying a new house?
• Getting surgery? Having a tooth drilled? Scary.
• Getting a will or other legal paperwork done?
• Scared of spending money on <any service> and not getting your money’s worth?

I think you could do a lot better than these, but they should get your thought process rolling.

You have 5 billion reasons to think about it and take some action.