The M&M’s spokescandies reunited during the Super Bowl, concluding an elaborate three-week story arc that the candy marketer's executives say reinforced the brand’s purpose while encountering controversy, absurd humor, multiple partnerships and four separate mentions over the course of and right after the Big Game.

First came a second-quarter commercial for “Ma&Ya’s,” the fictitious clam-filled candy promoted by interim spokesperson Maya Rudolph, who sings “Bite-sized candies filled with clams/Taste the ocean plus some sand.” The ad, from BBDO New York, features a last-second appearance by the Red M&M, holding a sign that reads “HELP!”

A five-second “bumper” running in the game's fourth quarter includes a voice-over reading “Tonight’s game on Fox is sponsored by M&M’s—we’re back!”

Immediately following the game, the lentils assemble for a 15-second press conference-style ad assuring they are back for good and reaffirming their purpose. “I’m glad to be back because this is what I was made for,” says Purple. “I mean, as a walking, talking candy my options are pretty limited.”

M&M’s and their reunion were also a topic of conversation in a fourth-quarter Peacock ad.

A story about belonging

For Rankin Carroll, chief brand and content officer, Mars Wrigley, the plan to sideline the mascots as the Super Bowl approached represented another “beat” in a story that began a year ago. In January 2022, the spokescandies were given a makeover in support of a renewed brand purpose “to create a world where everyone feels like they belong through the power of fun.” That meant making tweaks to the mascots that execs said better reflected the diverse world of their fans, while moving away from negative stereotypes that might turn young audiences off.

One way to underscore the brand purpose and highlight the diversity of its characters—while generating buzz to cut through the pregame clutter—was to break them up, Carroll said.

“If we’re about the power of fun trying to unlock a story about belonging, what about the idea of what would happen if the characters suddenly, for some reason … paused,” said Carroll.

“By playing with this, giving people the sensation that M&M's were going away, people really started manifesting their love for the brand and their love for their characters,” said Luiz Sanches, chief creative officer of BBDO North America. While Rudolph took over as an increasingly absurd brand spokeswoman, the characters went to work in online roles that suited their personalities and interacted with distinct audiences. “We treated them like they were real people, with new careers, new adventures, and new art,” Sanches said.

The brand cast Orange as a meditation content host on Spotify, and Yellow as a spokescandy for Snickers. Green became a shoe influencer on Zappos.com. Brown became a guest host of Cheddar News and Blue tried sportscasting on ESPN. Purple took voice lessons with singer Cheryl Porter, and Red sold a batch of memorabilia on eBay.

“That opportunity to be connected to our audiences who have different passions, different interests, and are participating in different digital spaces, was an opportunity for us to be a brand that’s connected to Gen Z,” Carroll said.

Polarizing

M&M’s announced the break-up of its mascots by saying they’d become “polarizing,”—a perceived knock at some of the brand’s critics that helped win news-cycle attention.

“We wanted from the beginning to create a stir, create a conversation and get people involved, which we seem to have done,” Carroll said.

Many news outlets covered the initial story as though M&M’s had given into its critics, but the increasingly absurd storyline around Rudolph—she had her face printed on lentils, changed the name to Ma&Yas and eventually pushed a clam-filled candy—showed M&M’s comedy hand.

“A couple of times during the process Luiz reassured me, saying ‘Look, they’ve got to know this a gag, a goof, like crazy absurd,’” Carroll said. “The brand is about belonging but it starts with fun, and if we ever lose that, we’ll kind of lose ourselves.”

The multifaceted campaign helped M&M’s win more than its share of Super Bowl pre-game hype, a period during which consumers were deciding on which snacks to buy for the game.

“Ninety percent of what happens is two weeks leading up [to the Super Bowl] so we said, ‘let’s participate in that,’” Carroll said. “So we got on this conversation about [how] the story arc has got to be interesting enough, funny enough to carry. And that’s where Luiz and the team have been brilliant. This is a really multi-touch digital campaign—the only linear shot we’re going to get is on [Super Bowl] Sunday.”

Carroll professed the brand all along wanted no part of the culture wars. “I don’t want to be trite, but we are here to use fun, and the power of fun, to help more people feel like they belong. That’s out of our values, and our corporate values, and our brand values. That’s what we’re on the planet to do with this brand.”

As to critics such as Tucker Carlson, Carroll said: “People are going to say what they’re going to say, that’s life. I think we’re happy that we are out there promoting a message of positivity, promoting a message of fun, promoting a message of inclusion, and diversity of views, diversity of opinions.”