AdMiration feature: M&M’s “What Have I Done”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to M&M’s “What Have I Done” ad, which promotes the brand’s first-ever freeze-dried candy, M&M’s POP’d Caramel. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a close up of Yellow M&M popping a red M&Ms POP’d Caramel, a candy bursting with caramel filling, into his mouth with a “Mmm!”

The young man sitting next to him takes note, saying, “I didn’t know M&Ms liked eating M&Ms.” To which Yellow responds, “Who’s eating M&Ms?” He then notices the bag of M&Ms POP’d Caramel he’s been eating out of and yells in horror. 

Red and Orange M&M enter the room with a “What have you done?!” falling to the floor. 

But the young man simply says, “Look, I won’t judge. They're so airy, so crispy.” While Red M&M says, “You think you know someone...” in disgust.   

The ad closes with an image of the new M&Ms POP’d Caramel candy as a voiceover says, “M&Ms Caramel…now POP’d!”

3 facts

• This is a strong ad from M&M’s that lands in the top 15% of US ads for ability to drive short-term sales and brand equity over the long term (Sales Impact: 86, Brand Impact: 88).

• This spot does an excellent job at effectively communicating that M&M’s have released a new candy (New Information: 4.3 vs. 3.7 norm) in a fun and on-brand way.

• The ad is also emotionally engaging and strongly resonates with audiences, making them feel a great mix of Love (Love: 37% vs. 27% norm) and Laughter (Laughter: 15% vs. 7%) throughout the whole ad — ultimately leaving people feeling more positive toward the brand (Brand Appeal: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm).

2 learnings

• Short, simple and informative ads can be very effective. You don’t need 30+ seconds to tell a compelling story. In just 15 seconds, M&M’s delivers something that’s clear and engaging because it stays focused on a single idea. The ad drops its familiar characters into a straightforward scenario that quickly communicates the core message: That their new candy is irresistibly good! There’s no over-explaining or clutter — just a clean setup, a punchline and a slightly unexpected (and funny) twist.  

• Brand mascots can help deliver news in an engaging way. One of the smartest things this ad does is balance new information with emotional engagement, with the help of M&M’s all-too-familiar brand mascots. The storyline clearly communicates that M&M’s has something new, but it wraps that message up in a format people already love with their mascots, which drives high emotional engagement and connection. In fact, the moment the Yellow M&M appears, there’s instant recognition and a whole lot of love from viewers. That connection creates an emotional shortcut — viewers are already primed to feel something before the story even unfolds, which keeps them engaged to see the ad through and discover the news the brand is trying to convey.

1 reflection

Are you building your distinctive brand assets (DBAs) effectively? 

The M&M’s characters are more than just mascots, they’re long-standing brand assets with decades of built-in equity. They generate emotion, clearly show the product and keep viewers engaged to deliver new information. And that kind of recognition and emotional resonance can’t be manufactured overnight.

Another thing they do well is help keep the brand fresh, opening up opportunities to introduce new roles, products and scenarios, something that can only be done once they’re effectively established. The characters still feel true to who they are, but can be placed in new, slightly unexpected situations (sometimes with a hint of cannibalism) that keeps the brand feeling current.

Brand characters such as these ultimately tap into long-term memory and emotional familiarity, while the creative keeps them relevant for today’s audience (and the brand’s latest release).

Ask yourself: Are you using your DBAs in ways that continue to evolve? And are you using them effectively to communicate news about your product? When done right, they can become a powerful vehicle for product news and brand relevance across generations.

M&M’s “What Have I Done” ad is part of the brand’s latest creative campaign and platform “It’s More Fun Together,” created by ​BBDO Chicago.

The campaign supports the brand’s first-ever freeze-dried candy, M&M’s POP’d Caramel, and is built around the idea that fun thrives on surprise.

The campaign features three spots, “What Have I Done” with Yellow, “Right Here” and “What Else” with Red. Across each of the spots, the M&M characters react to the unexpected freeze-dried format, including trying the product themselves and the surprise at how the brand is transforming a familiar favorite.

Ashley Gill, VP of Brands and Content Marketing at Mars, shares how the innovation itself follows a trend on TikTok, with consumers — especially texture-forward Gen Zs and millennials — seeking freeze-dried candy, saying “Instead get something light and airy. They’re surprising, but in a really great way.”

She continues, “There's just so much comedic tension in that core dynamic, and it’s been at the heart of these characters since the 1990s. When M&M's is at its best creatively, it's funniest — and what we see people respond to most is when we play in this world of adult humor.”

The campaign is set to run across broadcast, streaming, OLV and social media channels.

This is a strong ad from M&M’s that clearly communicates the release of their first-ever freeze-dried candy in a short, fun and informative way, landing in the top 15% of US ads for ability to drive short-term sales and brand equity over the long term (Sales Impact: 86, Brand Impact: 88).

Opening with a shot of the instantly recognizable Yellow M&M, it’s no wonder the ad is so distinctive, allowing it to drive great reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm) — and a spot that could only be for M&M’s.

The ad also resonates strongly with audiences. They enjoy it (Enjoyment: 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm), find it relevant (Relevance: 3.9 vs. 3.7 norm) and it makes them feel something (Overall Emotion: 66 vs. 57 norm).

Overall, people love this ad! It has them feeling an ideal mix of Love (Love: 37% vs. 27% norm) and Laughter (Laughter: 15% vs. 7%) — with many finding the dark humor very funny. And importantly, these emotions ultimately left people feeling more positive toward the brand (Brand Appeal: 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm). 

Unsurprisingly, the M&M’s characters are the stars of this spot, with many people calling out how much they love them: 

• "I love the M&M’s characters. They are timeless."

• "Always loved the talking M&M’s."

People also find the premise of the M&M eating an M&M to be funny, even if a little dark and cannibalistic, with some sharing: 

• "It was funny and told me something new."

• "I like the M&M eating its own kind and being startled."

• "I liked the dark humor.”

In just 15 seconds, this ad takes people through several peaks of emotions, spanning Love, Laughter and some Surprise — which is no easy feat. 

Love is the dominant emotion through nearly the whole ad, with peaks when Yellow M&M first eats the new M&M candy, when he’s initially confused and again at the end when the M&M’s bag appears on the screen and the voiceover says “M&M’s caramel, now popped!”

Laughter starts rising when Yellow M&M is working out what he’s done by eating one of his own, with laughter peaking when he finally realizes and when Orange M&M and Red M&M come in and also freak out about what’s occurred, with some Surprise sprinkled in throughout.

All of these emotions do a great job of keeping viewers engaged throughout the whole ad — ultimately entertaining and making people feel something, but more importantly, effectively communicating the news about the new M&M’s candy (New Information: 4.3 vs. 3.7 norm).

Their message comes through clearly and is well understood by viewers, with some describing it as:

• “They now come in popped” 

• “They have a new Popped edition of their candy” 

• “M&M’s are good to eat and they now have popped M&M’s.”

And 57% of respondents also agree that the ad communicates that M&M’s POP’d have a “Light, airy and crispy texture,” describing exactly what people can expect from their latest product. 

Ultimately, this was a very successful way to announce a new product in a fun and on-brand way! 

What a (darkly) humorous spot from M&Ms that announces their newest candy! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

To make sure you never miss one of our AdMiration analyses, subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter.