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M&M’S: THE SWEET TASK OF MEDIA SELECTION
Can you remember the first time you ate M&M’s? Most probably cannot, because it hap-
pened so early in life. The M&M’s brand is one of the most famous and popular candies
offered by Mars, Incorporated. Today, the brand enjoys an international presence that
continues to grow.
M&M’s began with a global flavor. According to legend, Forrest Mars Sr. was in
Spain visiting soldiers fighting the Spanish Civil War. He noted that they were eating
pieces of chocolate that were encased in a hard sugary coating. Using this as inspiration,
Mars returned to the United States and refined the recipe for M&M’s. The first packages
were sold in 1941 in the United States. They were a favorite of many GIs serving in
World War II. The original candies were sold in a cardboard tube. The famous brown
and white label package didn’t emerge until the late 1940s.
The legend of M&M’s grew when colors were added to the original brown. In the
1960s, red, green, and yellow were created. Eventually, these and other colors developed
into advertising spokescandies, including the egomaniac Red, the lovely female Green,
the amazing Crispy Orange, Cool Blue, and, of course, nutty Yellow.
Red disappeared for a time from the M&M’s mix after some research suggested con-
cerns about red food dye, even though the problem was not associated with M&M’s. In
1987, Red triumphantly returned, much to the joy of candy lovers around the world.
The advertising program for M&M’s has been long-lasting, noteworthy, and award-
winning. Practically any baby boomer remembers the original M&M’s tagline: “Melts in
your mouth, not in your hand.” Television advertisements have long been the staple of
M&M’s. Using a natural tie-in with candy consumption at Christmas, an intense burst of
M&M’s advertising takes place each December. Most of these ads include a guest visit
from Santa.
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Chapter Objectives
Masterthe process of creating
amedia strategy.
Understandthe roles media
planners and media buyers play
in an advertising program.
Utilizereach, frequency,
continuity, impressions, and
other objectives in the
preparation of an advertising
program.
Study and incorporate the
advantages of various media
indeveloping an ad program.
Recognizethe value of an
effective mix of media in an
advertising campaign.
Advertising Media
Selection
8
Because of permissions issues, some material (e.g., photographs) has been removed from this chapter, though reference to it
may occur in the text. The omitted content was intentionally deleted and is not needed to meet the University's requirements for
this course.
ISBN: 0-536-53243-5
Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications, Third Edition, by Kenneth E. Clow and Donald Baack.
Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Prentice Hall.