• by Phyllis Fine , Yesterday

What’s scarier than ghosts, skeletons, or vampires?

According to Mini USA, there’s only one answer: a driverless car.

So to mark the scary holiday that is Oct. 31, Mini has crafted a Waymo that will be haunting the streets of Los Angeles.

It’s topped by a blue M, with headlights that, perhaps more than its usual lights, mimic ghost eyes.

L.A. locals are invited to snap a photo of the vehicle, share it and tag @MINIUSA for a chance to be featured on Mini’s social channels.

“'Elloween,” developed by Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), also includes digital OOH and wild postings in San Francisco, L.A. and Atlanta -- cities where there are many Waymos -- and social posts on @MINIUSA.

The activation builds on Mini’s tradition of clever Halloween stunts -- including one that celebrated small cars -- “updated for a world that’s rapidly going autonomous,” according to the automaker.

And why ”'Elloween”? "The name is a cheeky nod to [the company's] British heritage. We couldn’t just wish people a Happy Halloween, we had to find an iconically Mini way of doing it," Kate Baynham, creative director, GS&P, told Marketing Daily in an email."And we started using ‘Ello this past April with our stunt at the New York Auto Show. It’s started to stick as a shorthand for letting you know Mini is up to mischief." 

“Nothing is scarier than ghosting on driving. In a world moving towards driverless cars, Mini is using its iconic humor to show that driving a Mini yourself is way more fun than getting chauffeured by a ghost,” said Kate Alini, head of marketing, product and strategy at Mini USA, in a statement.