The M&M’s TV commercial depicting M&M’s candies as characters in The Addams Family was cool and a little creepy. But the creepy factor was ok because The Addams Family is creepy.
This ad for M&M’s, featuring an M&M candy as Mary Lou Retton, is just creepy. If asked to identify the character without telling me who it was supposed to be, I wouldn’t know because Mary Lou Retton isn’t a household word in 2008. How many people under age 45 even know who Mary Lou Retton is?
Maybe Mars should have stuck to old TV shows for the characters. Or icons, like Elvis. Or maybe the Addams Family TV commercial should have been a one-off.
4 responses so far ↓
Eric // August 10, 2008 at 7:01 am
They don’t get any points for the Olympics-tie in? Doesn’t that outweigh the familiarity of an “Elvis” or someone else more recognizable?
mlibrescu // August 10, 2008 at 8:02 am
No.
Photo finish | The Adobe Guru // August 17, 2008 at 12:34 pm
[...] And, what the heck, here’s some spectacular imagery from the Olympics opening ceremony. (It’s as if Julie Taymor got ahold of the Clone Stamp…) Also, what’s with creepy Olympic M&M’s? [...]
Frank // November 25, 2008 at 3:59 am
Ooh, ooh! I’m under 45, and I know who she is! Still, you’d think they might’ve gone with someone slightly more recent.
I miss the M&Ms ads that they started using in the mid-90s. The ones with the now-iconic M&Ms characters. All the real people M&Ms ads are kinda’ creepy.
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.