• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, March 9, 2018

Snickers has veered into notably darker humor with the latest ads extensions in its long-running “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign. 

The two new 30-second videos, from BBDO New York, underscore the edgier scenarios by using edgier taglines. 

In one video, for the brand’s almond variety, a man, trapped in a car with a friend who insists on repeatedly pronouncing the nut’s name as “ahmend,” is driven (so to speak) to a desperate act. Tagline: “You Overreact When You’re Hungry.” 

This ad will begin airing on television on March 19. 

In a second effort, for Snickers Peanut Butter, a young man (above) sits in the dark, in what appears to be a church confessional, reciting his “sins”: watching the dark web, “casual” shoplifting, having feelings for his stepmother, and something that wasn’t exactly “meant” to be extortion. But the setting turns out not to be what the viewer had assumed. Tagline: “Hunger Leads to Uncomfortable Situations.”

Both ads will be promoted on social media, and “Ahmend” will have supporting print creative.  

BBDO New York is also stretching the video format, in a literal way, with its new creative for another Mars brand, Twix. 

The video has a 60-second version, but also one that’s a full 7:15 long (below). 

After six years of its campaign using humorous scenarios depicting an intense rivalry between Left Twix and Right Twix, the brand is using a new approach to introduce its first flavor varieties: Twix Dark, Twix White and Twix Peanut Butter. 

The premise of the spot is ecstatically declared by a woman wearing a full skirt, standing in a verdant field in front of mountains: “Now I can pick a Twix flavor instead of having to pick a Twix side. I’m free, I’m free!” 

She begins twirling — and keeps twirling, and keeps twirling, as various incongruous activities unfold behind her. 

In the 60-second version (not yet online), a man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, makes a brief appearance in the rural setting. 

In the long version (below), the businessman is eventually followed by a lone Frisbee player, another woman who’s also twirling around inexplicably, a guy mowing the field, and a woman using a walker. In this version, the “heroine” collapses from exhaustion a few times, but pops up again to resume twirling.

The shorter version is designed for use on Instagram, while the unusually long version targets Facebook users who also frequent Twix’s YouTube channel, according to the brand. 

While the main joke in both videos obviously lies in the prolonged twirling, does the creative team expect many people — even brand fans — to watch the full 7-minute version? 

“Twix and BBDO developed the humorous long-form OLV to connect with fans on a playful level, and reward those who stick around to watch until the end,” Arabella Smith, U.S. brand PR manager for Mars Wrigley Confectionary, tells Marketing Daily.