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The History of the M&M Characters
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Released
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January 22, 2019
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Running Time
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22:10
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Link
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(The Channel Awesome logo and NC title sequence play)
NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. I want to talk about the M&M characters.
(Cut to a clip of Beetlejuice)
Beetlejuice: ...Why?
NC: I'm glad you asked, audience represented by late '80s Michael Keaton movie. Because, surprisingly, not a lot of people do.
(A montage of clips of various M&M's commercials follows)
NC (vo): Oh, don't get me wrong: the M&M characters need no help getting noticed. M&M's candies have been around since the '40s, but if you mention the brand name today, it's almost impossible not to think of the funny, distinct and memorable characters that have been associated with them for over twenty years.
NC: Also, make no mistake, people do talk about them at certain times.
NC (vo): After their new Super Bowl commercial that runs every year; their theatrical promos played in several movie theaters; their Christmas ad that stayed the same for over twenty holiday seasons; you could even turn yourself into an M&M on their site for a while. These characters are as amazingly popular now as they were when they were first created.
NC: But that's what people don't talk about: how were they created? Who came up with the idea? And how have they been lasting for so long?
NC (vo): In doing research, I found there's actually not that many sites discussing where these icons came from. I couldn't even find videos on it. Plenty on the candy brand itself, but not the characters, at least that I could find.
NC: Well, you know what? There deserves to be.
NC (vo): I know these characters exist just to sell a product, but we've had...
(The poster for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory pops up)
NC (vo): ...whole movies based on that premise...
(The poster for The Lego Movie pops up)
NC (vo): ...and we got angry when they weren't nominated for Oscars!
(Cut back to the commercials)
NC (vo): Just because they're used to sell something doesn't mean they can't leave a funny, charming, memorable impact. We know the personalities of these timeless characters like we know (images of...) Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, characters you had almost ten minutes at a time to get acquainted with, but with these guys, you had only thirty seconds. Thirty seconds to make a connection, and we still feel like we know these characters inside out. That's something that deserves to be explored.
NC: So, we're gonna look over how these characters came to be, who they are, and how they entertained kids and adult for so many years.
(An old-time ad for M&M's during World War II is displayed)
NC (vo): Let's start at the beginning. M&M's was created in the early '40s...
(Cut to a montage of black-and-white commercials for the product)
NC (vo): ...and like any brand, they utilized advertising. Though they went through several different strategies and spokespeople, they never had an official mascot that lasted for a long amount of time.
(A poster for Reese's Pieces featuring E.T. is displayed)
NC (vo): E.T. would have been perfect, you both have two letters in your names! DAMN FOOL!!!
(Back to the M&M's)
NC (vo): The closest thing they had to a long run was putting faces and limbs on the candies themselves...
(Cut to a shot of the Kool-Aid Man from the '80s)
NC (vo): ...something a lot of products have done over the years.
NC: Though no distinct personalities were formed, they did seem to focus on two...
(Clips of commercials showing these two are shown)
NC (vo): A red plain one and a yellow peanut one. Something about those two colors and those two shapes side by side seemed to be the most eye-pleasing.
(Cut to another ad, from the '90s, with multitudes of the candies in all shapes and colors)
NC (vo): In the mid-'90s, though, sales weren't performing as they wanted. M&M's was not only becoming just another candy...
(Shots of knockoffs of the product are shown, including Piatsen's Big Ben and Hershey-Ets)
NC (vo): ...they were becoming one that was easily imitated.
NC: Something had to be done to make them stand out.
NC (vo): With a relatively small budget, they asked advertising firm (image of the logo for...) BBDO to breathe new life into them. (Image of Susan Credle pops up) But creative director at the time, Susan Credle, knew they didn't have the ad spend of other big clients like Coke or Pepsi, so they had to think simple.
(The montage now focuses on the early days of the CGI-rendered red and yellow M&M figures of today)
NC (vo): She and her team came up with the idea of giving the M&M's personalities, even making them a little more adult so they wouldn't just be associated with kid stuff. Lucky enough, they had the talent of Blue Sky Studios to animate them...
(Cut to a shot of the Blue Sky logo with some of its characters (from Rio, Ice Age, Horton Hears a Who, etc.) surrounding it)
NC (vo): Yeah, that Blue Sky Studios! ...and the campaign began with different primetime celebrities interacting with the red and yellow M&M. The tone was more laid back, sophisticated. Sure, they didn't have to always be bouncing around to want one.
(A snippet of a commercial is shown, featuring early versions of the CGI-rendered red and yellow M&M's pushing a bowl of M&M's in front of Bebe Neuwirth)
Red: You want one?
Bebe: Surely, you jest. One bite, and all my composure's lost.
Yellow: We'll help you find it.
(Bebe takes a piece of the candy and eats it, yet is not affected)
Red: Well?
Bebe: I'm giddy. You didn't notice?
(The M&M's backs turned to her, she smiles at the camera, but they don't notice, and she reverts to her deadpan expression when they look back)
Red: Notice what? What is she talking about? (Yellow shrugs)
NC (vo): It was a totally different approach, and people seemed to like it.