Watch: How The M&M’S Spokescandies Are Celebrating Halloween 2024

By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon

The iconic M&M’S spokescandies — or spookscandies — are pulling double campaign duty this Halloween.

Yellow and Green are in a new BBDO New York campaign crossing over into the Snickers universe. Across the pond, Red is partnering with smart home security manufacturer Ring UK and Ireland to activate Halloween mode in your Ring doorbell.

What are they doing in each spot? More importantly, what, or who, did these brand mascots dress up as this year? Let’s get into whether all these tricks and treats pay off.

Snickers | “Unexpected Guests”

In Snickers “Unexpected Guests” spot, Yellow and Green make a cameo as trick or treaters out on October 31. One homeowner reluctantly gives both mascots a Snickers bar, but not before confusedly wondering aloud why two giant candies are out trolling for treats on a holiday that quite literally celebrates their demise.

Wait. So, the M&M’S spokescandies are giant candies? Did they also know that?

“Run for your lives!” a spooked Yellow shouts before darting off into the night. Red’s not here tonight so Green has to hunt him down before his newly developed existential crisis gets out of hand.

The Verdict: This spot felt a bit anticlimactic to us. Maybe the 15 seconds are to blame. Lengthening it out to 30 seconds or more would have created more opportunity to world build on the idea that the M&M’S spokescandies are viewed by everyone in the Snickers universe as giant candies. Or it could have expanded on what happens when M&M’S spokescandies consume Snickers. Did anyone else wonder about that too? Could they turn into another pair of iconic candy mascots and add more layers and dimensions to the candy multiverse? It’s possible!

It’s also a missed opportunity that in the same year “Wicked” is coming to movie theaters, we don’t get a Green and Yellow as Elphaba and Galinda costume duo. We’ll write this one off for copyright reasons. Green gets close enough in her witch’s hat, but seeing Yellow in a puffy pink dress and crown would have been downright delightful. (Maybe then they’d have been less recognizable on Halloween.)

“Ring x M&M’S”

The “Ring x M&M’S” partnership from Ring UK and Ireland teams up the home security doorbell with M&M’S spokescandy Red as the limited-time Quick Replies voice for the Ring Video Doorbell.

Homeowners can activate one of several Quick Replies available in Red’s signature snarky voice. Red “answers” the door using a variety of templates, like distracting trick or treaters with silly dance prompts, while you grab the candy bowl and head out to greet them. In the spot, Red’s activation encourages Purple to boogie like a bat for her candy haul.

The Verdict: Created by T&Pm, this feels like a spot-on brand partnership to us. We like how even though Red is the star of the new Ring activation, relatively new-ish mascot Purple comes along for the ride. (Where’s the bucket for her candy though?)

And even though they’re both in different campaigns this year, can we talk about how it looks like Red and Yellow dressed in the same costumes? They both appear to be rocking vampire capes. Eerie coincidence or vibing on the same costume frequency?

About the Author

Heather Taylor is the senior writer and editor-in-chief of PopIcon, Advertising Week’s blog about brand mascots. Got a pitch on brand mascots or want to wax nostalgic about characters? Drop her a line at howveryheather@gmail.com.