Who you gonna call when your electric vehicle needs a little more Halloween? Apparently, Bill Murray. Rivian has teamed with Sony Pictures for a new Ghostbusters-themed Halloween campaign that brings Murray back as Peter Venkman and turns the EV maker’s R1 into its own version of the franchise’s legendary Ecto-1.
Rivian created the spot in-house and directed it with Gil Kenan, who co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife and directed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; it opens on a house in full paranormal meltdown. Lights flicker. Appliances go haywire. Food flies. Slimer is doing what Slimer does.
Then something outside catches his attention.
Enter the Ecto-R1.
Rivian’s custom-built vehicle carries the familiar red-and-white visual language of the original Ecto-1, including the No-Ghost logo, roof-mounted sirens, spotlights, a radar dish and enough hardware to make any proton-pack enthusiast happy. Watch below:
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For Matt Soldan, head of creative studio at Rivian, getting Murray and Kenan involved turned the idea from a clever Halloween stunt into something that felt connected to the world of Ghostbusters.
“Gil knows this world better than anyone as both a writer and director,” he noted. “One thing that was important to all of us was shooting it as close to the original as possible, using the old school Slimer puppet and in-camera effects.”
That commitment to practical effects matters here. Rather than slapping IP onto a car and calling it a day, Rivian leaned into the handmade weirdness that made Ghostbusters iconic in the first place.
And then there was Murray.
“Having Bill come back as Venkman took it over the top,” Soldan said.
Bob Industries produced the campaign, which extends far beyond the film itself.
Rivian owners can unlock a special Ghostbusters Halloween software experience inside their vehicles, including themed exterior lighting and sound effects, a spooky version of the voice assistant, and a Mini-Puft arcade game playable while parked.
The Ghostbusters app also offers custom lighting sequences, sound effects, and an interactive scavenger hunt that hides characters across vehicle displays.
The activation runs from October 9 through November 2.
For Jenny Lewis, head of marketing and e-commerce at Rivian, that kind of participation is the point. “By pairing our history with Halloween with powerful marketing and an actual experience for owners, we’re able to break through the noise in a meaningful way and allow our owners to be participants, not just audience members,” Lewis said.
Rivian has been building Halloween into its brand for several years now. Previous vehicle transformations have included Knight Rider and Back to the Future, making the annual software stunt something of a tradition.
This year, though, the brand went bigger. The Ecto-R1 will appear at retail locations and Halloween events across the country, including New York City’s Village Halloween Parade. Rivian is also rolling out themed merchandise and in-person experiences.
That makes the campaign more than another celebrity cameo or nostalgic movie tie-in.
It is a pretty smart demonstration of something traditional automakers cannot always do as easily: turn the vehicle itself into media.
Once the software becomes part of the marketing canvas, the possibilities grow very large, very quickly.
Or, as Lewis put it, practically unlimited.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Rivian
- Vice President: Jenny Lewis
- Marketing: Brittany Ouyang
- Head of Development: Erica Tsypin
- Manager: Kate Thomas
- Social: Chloe Benhamou
- Creative: Folabi Ajayi
- Creative: Tyler White
- Creative: Brandon Dela Cruz
- Creative: Greg Robinson
- Operations Director: Makailynn Clark
AGENCY: Rivian
- Director: Matt Soldan
- Group Creative Director: Luke Partridge
- Executive Producer: James Henry
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Bob Industries
- Director: Gil Kenan
- Director of Photography: Guillermo Garza
- Executive Producer: John O’Grady
- Executive Producer: TK Knowles
PRODUCTION: Ghost Corps
Executive Producer: Eric Reich
POST / VFX: Rivian
- Editor: Jess Weber (Johnson)
- Editor: Bridget Arnet
- Colorist: Clinton Hollister
- Edit Assistant: George Michaelis
POST / VFX: Nexodus Studios
POST / VFX: Sony Imageworks
MUSIC: Andy Forsberg
Composer: Andy Forsberg
MUSIC/SOUND: Pacific Standard Sound
