• by Erik Oster , December 14, 2023

M&M’s is going back to the Super Bowl with a 30-second ad in one of the Big Game’s most coveted time slots.

The ad, created by M&M’s’ longtime Super Bowl teammate BBDO New York, will run in the first quarter, during the first commercial break of CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. According to M&M’s, the ad will lean into its brand purpose  “to use the power of fun to include everyone.”

This marks the Mars brand’s ninth Super Bowl appearance; it had its Big Game debut in 1998.

The broadcast spot will run as part of a larger campaign promising to deliver a “full program” of “colorful fun” during the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl push follows last year’s Cannes Gold Lion Award-winning "Spokescandies on Pause" Big Game campaign, which came after the brand sat out the 2022 Super Bowl. 2021’s “Come Together” ad, meanwhile, ranked number four on USA Today's 2021 Ad Meter of top Super Bowl spots.

Mars will also use the Super Bowl to promote other brands in its portfolio. Snickers will be part of the Super Bowl Experience event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from Feb. 7 through Feb. 10, serving as presenting sponsor of the NFL Network Total Access Desk. The brand will give fans the chance to interact with the program and comment as if they’re an official NFL Network host (and, of course, sample a Snickers bar).

Snickers Ice Cream will also be on hand for the big event on Feb. 11, with the Snickers Ice Cream Truck at Gameday Experience passing out complimentary ice cream bars to fans in attendance.

The Super Bowl marketing blitz comes as Mars is under heightened scrutiny for its cocoa harvest practices. Earlier this month, CBS reported about the widespread use of child labor across suppliers providing cocoa to Mars in Ghana.