Six Flags made a spine-chilling short horror film with a creepy clown and jump scares galore

There’s no better way to kick off the Halloween season than with a truly terrifying short film from Six Flags Entertainment, featuring an evil clown. On Wednesday (Oct. 2), Six Flags launched “Tick. Tick. Tick,” a five-minute short film created by agency TMA that portrays four housemates being haunted by a malevolent clown. Throughout the film, the clown appears during a series of paranormal activities directly after a Six Flags gold pass appears. Filmed in the style of a true horror film, the campaign builds on the participating parks’ seasonal “Fear is waiting” message with more urgency: “Don’t keep fear waiting.” The campaign targets teens and young adults, the heaviest visitors to theme parks during the Halloween season. The goal is to drive purchases of each park’s gold season passes, including Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Valleyfair and Canada’s Wonderland. Also read: Mr. Six returns in his first Six Flags campaign in 14 years According to TMA, much of the cast and crew for the campaign, including the agency’s chief creative officer Harris Wilkinson and the campaign director John Suits, brought deep experience in horror filmmaking to this project. “A visit to Six Flags is always an immersive experience—but at Halloween, participating parks turn that dial to 11,” said Wilkinson. “This film brings the tension and terror of the in-park experience home and reminds fans not to keep fear waiting.” The short film is a refreshing new approach to Six Flags’ Halloween advertising, which typically promotes Fright Fest’s attractions and haunted houses. And it is actually scary and entertaining, creating an immersive experience. The film will run digitally on YouTube and the social media channels for the five parks above. In addition, the long-form version will be supported by teasers in six-second and 15-second lengths, which will appear on Meta and YouTube in each of the parks’ respective markets. The campaign will run through October. “Halloween is having a huge cultural moment, and for us, the time was ripe to up the ante on how we engage with consumers and immerse them into our unique Halloween experience,” said Stella Smith, VP of advertising and creative services at Six Flags Entertainment Co. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Six Flags made a spine-chilling short horror film with a creepy clown and jump scares galore

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