Dive Brief:
- M&M’s revealed a new creative platform, “It’s More Fun Together,” that promotes a message of togetherness through humor and cross-generational bonding, according to a press release.
- New spots depict occasions, including a family movie night and a couple settling into a romantic evening that’s disrupted by a visiting relative, where M&M’s unite people. The brand’s signature spokescandies crack jokes and add an element of surprise in the spots.
- The effort was developed for a global audience spanning over 100 markets, with an emphasis on the ampersand in M&M’s name to hammer home the theme of unity. The marketer joins others in the industry in focusing on connection in divisive times.
Dive Insight:
At a time when many CPG brands are reinventing themselves to better cater to Gen Z, M&M’s is taking a cross-generational approach with “It’s More Fun Together.” The concept for the platform is rooted in survey data from YouGov and Statista that show a majority of Gen Z, millennials and boomers in the U.S. cite M&M’s as their favorite candy, underpinning the Mars-owned confectionery brand’s broad appeal.
“We know that to maintain this iconicity, we must — and we will — continue to keep fans at the heart of how the M&M’s brand comes to life,” said Rankin Carroll, global chief creative officer of Mars Snacking, in a statement. “Co-creation is the future of brand building, and ‘It’s More Fun Together’ lays the foundation for us to do just that.”
A fresh crop of ads accordingly depict people of varied ages and backgrounds bonding over M&M’s. In one spot promoting M&M’s Minis, a millennial couple eagerly waits to see if their toddler has gotten the hang of going to the bathroom alone, only to be surprised when the red M&M spokescandy walks out of the john and asks for a reward.
Another ad, “Jump Scare,” shows parents settling in to watch a horror movie with their twins, when the dad suddenly emits a high-pitched scream. The blue M&M warns the scares are only just getting started. Each video closes with M&M’s products as the “&” in the logo flashes different colors. Other spots running as part of “It’s More Fun Together” are more product-oriented, highlighting the taste of offerings such as peanut- and milk chocolate-flavored M&M’s.
The campaign will run across digital, social, TV, out-of-home and other traditional ad channels and includes partnership and activations at the brand's experiential retail stores, per details shared with Marketing Dive. “It's More Fun Together” was created by Team OMC and BBDO with paid media by EssenceMediacom and PR by Weber Shandwick.
“It’s More Fun Together” arrives several years after M&M’s was caught in a swirl of controversy after updating its spokescandies to be more inclusive, which drew criticism from right-wing commentators. Changes included introducing a purple spokescandy mascot themed around acceptance, who factors into “It’s More Fun Together.”
M&M’s leaning into messaging around unity could resonate at a moment when many consumers are divided. Other confectionery brands have taken a similar tack of late. Twix, another product under the Mars portfolio, ditched a long-standing focus on the left-right divide of its twinned chocolate bars earlier this year, pivoting to marketing that has people working together. The multimillion dollar campaign, “Two is more than one,” is intended to address how sick young consumers are of polarization and capitalize on their interest in living life to the fullest.
Mars ramping up its creative initiatives comes as it is potentially mulling other changes around its marketing. The company is planning to move its media account from WPP Media, formerly GroupM, to Publicis, Digiday reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
