Stockholm, Sweden — Halloween week. The new SL campaign taps into a universal urban fear: walking toward your parked car and spotting something on the windshield from far away. Your heart drops. Your wallet cries. With household budgets squeezed, a parking fine can ruin a weekend—last year alone, tickets in Stockholm totaled about SEK 369 million (≈ USD 33 million).
What makes this Halloween OOH hit so close to home?
It borrows classic horror-movie language and applies it to a dread every driver knows. The setup is instantly legible from a distance: that slip on the glass, that pit in your stomach. The payoff? A simple, smarter alternative—take public transport with SL and skip the scare.
Craft and tone: horror cues, everyday stakes
Shot by photographer Carl-Johan Ekberg, the visuals lean into cinematic lighting and composition to heighten suspense around an everyday scene. The creative avoids cheap jump scares; instead, it channels tension into a calm, rational choice: leave the car at home.
“If you’re going to be scared in October, it should at least be by something that ends after two hours at the cinema — not by a 130 dollar fine that ruins your weekend,”
Channels and timing
The campaign runs across print, outdoor, and social during the week leading up to Halloween, meeting audiences where the fear naturally occurs: sidewalks, curbs, and feeds.
“We’ve all felt that horror movie moment… This Halloween, we’re showing Stockholmers there’s an easier way to avoid that particular horror: leave the car at home.”
— Creatives Christian Jörgensen & Ulf Paulsrud-Sirbäck
Building on SL’s ‘car-owner horror’ universe
This wave extends earlier activations that spotlight common driver pain points: pocket-parking on elevated streets, neon-lit fuel prices, and endless highway queues. The thread is the same—fear less, spend less, stress less—by choosing public transport.
October brings the thrills; SL’s OOH makes sure your commute isn’t one of them.
FAQs about this campaign
What’s the core idea of SL’s Halloween campaign?
Use classic horror aesthetics around a dreaded driver moment—spotting a slip on the windshield—to suggest public transport instead.
Why is the message timely?
Parking fines in Stockholm reached about SEK 369M last year, so saving money by skipping the car resonates—especially as household budgets tighten.
Who shot the campaign visuals?
Photographer Carl-Johan Ekberg captured the horror-movie atmosphere to land an immediate emotional response.
Where does the campaign run?
Across print, outdoor, and social media during the week leading up to Halloween.
What’s the behavioral nudge?
Replace stress, fines, and fuel with a simpler commute: take SL public transport instead of driving.
How does it connect to earlier work?
It builds on prior ‘car-owner horror’ themes like tight pocket parking, soaring fuel prices, and long highway queues.
Bring your idea to breakfast-time OOH
Explore formats that meet audiences in morning routines and commuter corridors.
