2019 Brave Awards Winner, Mars

In this paper, we explore the creative journey that led to the most successful social media campaign from Mars Inc. worldwide: M&M’s Mix.

M&M’s is an iconic brand yet in the increasingly crowded bitesize segment, needs to carve out shelf space and remain relevant to consumers. In 2018, we stepped up to this challenge launching M&M’s Mix, a permanent fourth variant featuring chocolate, peanut, and crispy in one pack. This would appeal to the emerging trend for variety in confectionery, whilst also challenging UK-consumer perceptions of M&M’s as a ‘peanut brand’.

To reach a sufficient audience which required putting all our M&M’s into one, unproven, media basket – social newsfeed. We had confidence in the platform but no proof, and a real risk that disappointing sales of Mix could undermine the brand.

Combining the necessary messaging and platform parameters brought further risk as we couldn’t rely on our proven most distinctive assets – our characters. In a bold move, for the first time since 1987, we led with product. Through multi-disciplinary collaboration, including Facebook, we...