Community Corner
NJ-Based Spirit Halloween Taps Into Its Own Viral Meme
The seasonal chain store, with humble roots in New Jersey, has finally played along with the viral internet trend.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - New Jersey-based seasonal costume shop Spirit Halloween has finally responded to its own online meme that gained viral status this month.
The popular trend allows users to design their own generic Halloween costume to poke fun at everything from social media managers to crypto enthusiasts to moms using a blank costume template:
It’s Halloween everyday… #momlife #SpiritHalloween pic.twitter.com/0tbwyhZU0e
— Grace Lim (@GraceLimWX) October 27, 2022
It didn’t take long for people to take the idea and run with it, with companies like Webex and OneOf getting in on the gag. Even the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the French Embassy and the state of New Jersey had some fun with the meme:
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Feel free to wear this one year-round. #SpiritHallowmeme #HybridWork pic.twitter.com/gcQttrSIrA
— Webex (@Webex) October 27, 2022
Can't believe spirit halloween sells this pic.twitter.com/41IMjXizeA
— Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (@waDNR) October 26, 2022
We're dressing up like our favorite pet this Halloween.
How about you? pic.twitter.com/TO40FAaoFk
— New Jersey (@NJGov) October 28, 2022
The Egg Harbor-based company didn’t take to the idea well at first, even threatening a review of another user’s meme post in a now-deleted reply on Oct. 23.
“This is not an officially licensed costume from our company. Photoshopping our packages seems to be trending at the moment,” Spirit Halloween wrote on Twitter in response to yet another doctored costume package. “We will be passing this to our review team. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
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However, the brand seemed to have a change of heart in regard to the meme just days later, when it tweeted a photo of a fake “Spirit Halloween Store” costume.
“Is this too meta?” the company cheekily inquired, adding the hashtag #SpiritHallowmeme.
is this too meta? #SpiritHallowmeme pic.twitter.com/8UewxUvRRI
— Spirit Halloween (@SpiritHalloween) October 26, 2022
The costume chain has even posted a roundup of its favorite HallowMeme uses. You can check them out here.
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