You know the feeling. The show is on, the lights are low, and halfway through the episode you reach for something to snack on without thinking about it. M&M’s noticed it too! And built a whole campaign around that tiny, familiar moment.
The campaign is called “Screentime.” It is made up of three 15-second spots that drop the brand’s spokescandies into genres everyone knows by heart like a crime thriller, a telenovela and a “Survivor” style reality competition. In each one, a human character is craving a treat, and the candy ends up in the worst possible place at the worst possible time.
The details are where it gets fun. In the crime thriller, a detective arrives at a scene where chalk outlines suggest several M&M’s have already been eaten. Then he notices two spokescandies standing right there and announces he is going for the green one. In the telenovela, the green M&M falls for a hunky lead actor. She does not speak Spanish, so she misses that his passionate words are also about eating her. In the reality show, called “Unanimous,” the red and yellow M&M’s get voted off the island, only to learn that being voted off here means being put on the menu.
It is dark in the way that makes you laugh before you feel bad about it. The candies always know what is coming, and the humans never quite do.
There is a clear logic behind the genres too. These are stories with fans across generations. Your parents might love a soapy telenovela, your cousin might follow every season of “Survivor,” and someone in your family is probably deep into true crime. Everyone has a show they gather around, and M&M’s wants to sit in the middle of that moment.
Each spot ends the same way, with the spokescandies on a couch against a yellow backdrop and the line “It’s more fun together.” That line is the heart of a platform the brand launched last year, built around bringing people together. Earlier ads under it showed parents bonding with their kids over a scary movie night. The couch is a small image with a big idea: snacks and stories are better when someone is next to you.
None of this is entirely new for M&M’s. The spokescandies have already played spies and landed in action scenes that nod to “Speed” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The brand also keeps showing up in the real entertainment world. It teamed up with “Practical Magic 2” on a limited edition Spell & Snack Pack, with actress Camilla Belle recreating a scene from the original film on Instagram and TikTok. It was also the exclusive confectionery partner for the latest season of “Love Island USA,” with Play Along Packs that made episode watching more interactive.
The lesson is simple and a little bit sweet. A brand does not always need to invent a new moment. Sometimes it just needs to find the one you already love, sit down next to you on the couch, and make you laugh while it is there.
Watch the “Survivor” spot here.
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