Advertising & Media
M&M's Drops Spokescandies Into Crime Thrillers and Telenovelas in 'Screentime'
M&M's new 'Screentime' campaign drops its spokescandies into crime thrillers, telenovelas and a 'Survivor' parody, extending the Mars brand's 'It's More Fun Together' platform.
M&M's is putting its spokescandies on the menu — literally — in a new campaign that drops the candy mascots into crime thrillers, telenovelas and a "Survivor"-style reality competition. The effort, called "Screentime," consists of three 15-second spots, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
In each scenario, the spokescandies attract the attention of human characters craving a treat. The campaign positions M&M's as a snack that pairs with entertainment, and it supports a messaging platform the Mars-owned brand launched last year around bringing people together.
"Screentime" will run across broadcast, full-episode player video channels, programmatic and social media.
One ad follows a police detective arriving at a crime scene where chalk outlines imply multiple M&M's have been gobbled up. He then spots two other spokescandies nearby and says he's going to eat the green one. In "Telenovela," the green M&M falls for a hunky lead actor in a romance program — but, not speaking Spanish, she fails to grasp that his words of passion are also about eating her. A third spot, "Unanimous," sees the red and yellow M&M voted off the island. Rather than banished from the competition, they are now on the menu.
Each commercial closes with M&M's sitting on a couch against a yellow backdrop and the tagline "It's more fun together."
BBDO Chicago created "Screentime" and the broader creative platform. Omnicom handled production, and Rami Hachache of Prettybird directed the commercials.
The campaign returns M&M's to a familiar strategy: placing its button-shaped mascots in settings that borrow from recognizable film and TV tropes. The spokescandies have previously starred in spy thriller espionage and high-octane action scenes echoing blockbusters like "Speed" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"Screentime" targets genres with enduring, cross-generational fandoms, including "Survivor," true crime and soapy telenovelas. In each case, characters within those genres cannot resist biting into an M&M.
The tagline anchors work that stretches back over a year. M&M's introduced "It's More Fun Together" in 2025 to present its products and entertainment as unifying forces. Prior ads under the platform depicted parents bonding with kids over a scary movie night and other family-oriented moments.
The campaign also builds on M&M's long-standing pop culture associations. The brand recently partnered with "Practical Magic 2" on a limited-edition Amas Veritas Spell & Snack Pack inspired by a scene from the original film, with actress Camilla Belle recreating the moment on Instagram and TikTok. M&M's also served as the exclusive confectionery partner of the latest season of "Love Island USA," a deal that included Play Along Packs designed to make episode watching more interactive.
With "Screentime," M&M's continues to bet that pairing its mascots with the formats audiences already binge will keep the brand part of the viewing ritual — couch, candy and all.
Original: techtarget.com
Priya Raman
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Correspondent covering industry trends and analytics at Marketing Herald.
