By now it’s hardly surprising when Burger King takes potshots at McDonald’s with its marketing. But its latest one takes surprise to the next level—terror. If you’ve ever played “Bloody Mary” in front of the mirror, you know the drill, but it comes with a twist: BK in Sweden and Denmark is daring people to say “canceled clown” (a dig at Ronald McDonald) in front of smart mirrors in its restaurants’ bathrooms. When the mirrors detect the phrase, the room is plunged into darkness and a gaunt Ronald appears. 

Watch: Are you brave enough to see the clown appear?

Another Creepy Campaign Gets Controversial:

In a campaign that didn’t land quite as well, Burger King’s “Scary Places” stunt tells customers to drive to dilapidated, abandoned fast-food restaurants and use the app to get a coupon. Critics are calling it tone-deaf and lacking in empathy for the economic hardship the businesses have faced. Read about it here.

There have been a number of brand mascot retirements this year, but the Morton Salt Girl, who was born in 1914 and remains one of the most iconic and recognizable mascots of brand history, is not one of them. In fact, Morton’s new brand identity honors her, with the descender on the “R” in its logo featuring an upturned tail that harmonizes with her foot. What Morton aims to achieve with its sleek new design is helping consumers recognize that it’s not just about table salt, but also makes pool salt, water-softener pellets and ice melt.

Explore the new look: The more uniform design system seeks to be instantly recognizable no matter the aisle.

Advocacy and racial justice group 600 & Rising has a powerful new ally in Cyrus Mehri, founding partner of Mehri & Skalet PLLC, who has been involved in two of the largest class action discrimination suits in history and has pushed forward a key NFL diversity policy. Perhaps most notably for this industry, he worked on the 2009 Madison Avenue Project, which exposed underrepresentation of Black ad professionals. Now his firm will receive legal counsel from his firm on “a wide range of topics.”

Mobilization: 600 & Rising has revealed diversity data, but Mehri could help the org translate that into change.

• Also in agency news: Last week, Mother London launched Other, a new indie agency aimed at revitalizing the industry and boosting creativity.

A recent study has shown a significant dropoff in voter registration since 2016, largely thanks to the pandemic, but social media platforms are taking up the call to encourage users to vote and inform them about the process and locations. More states are allowing online registration, allowing these platforms to direct users straight to portals where they can register or verify that they’re all set to vote. These efforts are a critical move for platforms, which many people believe to be a cause of much of the political divisiveness that has defined the year.

Getting results: Snap alone has registered 1.2 million users to vote this election cycle.

More of Today’s Top News & Highlights

• Nissan Appoints First US CMO Amid Leadership Realignment
• Talking TV Ratings and Trump on Yeah, That’s Probably an Ad
• How Marketers Are Investing in Digital Transformation Amid the Pandemic
• How One Creative Is Changing the Entrepreneurial and Design Landscape in Texas
• Invisalign Taps TikTok Influencers Like Charli D’Amelio and Gains Social Clout

A horror movie for cats? In Mars Temptations’ spooky Halloween spot, a feline remains unimpressed by traditional horror movie tropes—but then confronts the most frightening thing a cat can imagine. The creation of the spot was an impressive feat, requiring more than 100 people to create the short film by adam&eveDDB. Watch it here.

As voice-activated technologies continue to see enhancements, more marketers and media outlets are signing on to amplify their brand. Join Adweek today at 2pm for this live virtual summit to hear how brands are finding new ways to connect to consumers and what’s next. Register for free.

Experiential powerhouse Giant Spoon builds an immersive yet contactless activation for the Season 1 finale.

Make a statement you believe in and use voices that believe it, too.

'America is for everyone,' travel brand says, highlighting immigrant communities.

The brand recreated a VR activation from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and filled it with purchasable seasonal items.

It's the first from newly appointed CMO Darren 'Daz' McColl.

The spots will run alongside classic movies, favorite sports moments and oldies playlists.