Pringles wants its biggest fans to spend eternity inside the can.
Mars just launched "Once You Drop," a Halloween campaign that asks fans to sign a "will and taste-ament" for a chance to win a can-shaped urn and 200 years' worth of Pringles.
The idea comes from the can’s inventor, whose ashes were buried in a Pringles can in 2008.
Mauricio Jenkins, Salty Snacks Brand & Content Lead at Mars Snacking North America, explained the premise.
"Pringles has always been about the joy of the unexpected and this campaign takes our ‘Once You Drop’ campaign tagline literally: the pop don’t stop, not even once fans 'drop'."
He added that leaning into dark humor and Gen Z’s taste for absurd stories puts Pringles "on the salty side of Halloween and rewarding the ultimate fan in the most lasting way possible."
Signing a Will at OnceYouDrop.com
The launch film opens with real-life funeral director Dan the Funeral Man (known as @DanTheFuneralMan) inspecting a coffin.
He tells viewers the can’s inventor was buried in his own creation, then floats the same send-off for another fan in a can-shaped urn.
The spot ends with Dan inviting viewers to prove they "love Pringles to death" by signing the will and taste-ament.
Entries run from October 13 through October 22 at OnceYouDrop.com, where fans sign on the dotted line for a random drawing.
The winner will be notified around October 31 and will receive a precious-metal urn with a removable lid that mirrors the can’s silhouette.
Fans can also download a seal of commitment and share it with @Pringles, which gives every entrant a reason to post.
Pringles is not the first brand to sell a death-themed product this fall.
BARK and Liquid Death sold three $1 human-sized coffins that doubled as dog beds, and all three sold out in under 30 seconds.
Pringles brings that joke to snack food.
The Marketing Value of Dark Humor
The secret to making absurd humor work is to have a real story sit behind it.
Snapchat and Omnicom Advertising surveyed more than 6,000 social users ages 13 to 28, and 92% agreed the best jokes seem random but have logic behind them.
It's a stat that fits the Pringles pitch, with the burial gag resting on the real story of the can’s inventor.
Candy takes$4.1 billion of the $13.5 billion Americans are expected to spend on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation, so a salty snack needs a sharper hook.
Here’s what marketers can learn:
- Connect the prize to brand history: The urn traces back to the can’s inventor, making the reward carry a story only Pringles can tell.
- Make the entry shareable: The downloadable seal lets each entrant post proof of participation, which spreads the campaign without paid media.
- Keep the top prize singular: One urn and one 200-year supply are easy to explain and easy for media to cover.
Overall, the larger opportunity for marketers is a clear finish line.
A short entry window and a single prize give a seasonal campaign a reason to act now.
Our Take: Can Novelty Give Pringles Halloween Visibility?
Yes, and the proof is in every pantry.
A Pringles can already looks like an urn, and this gives the brand a Halloween prop without new packaging or a seasonal flavor.
Once fans see the prize, every ordinary can in a cart carries the idea with it.
We think that is worth more than a month of display space, with Pringles getting seasonal visibility from a product it sells all year.
The hard part is keeping the can interesting after entries close on October 22.
Quirky stunts work best when the creative partner can land a dark joke without losing the brand.
Explore these top agencies experienced in large, multi-touchpoint launches.
