M&M'S: M&M's Bar by CLM BBDO

M&M's has launched a £1.4m digital campaign to push its latest venture - a chocolate bar version of its colourful 'm' printed chocolates.

M&M's anthropomorphised chocolate characters - known only by their colours - have become almost as famous as the chocolate itself. The brainchild of BBDO in 1995, the characters were introduced to revitalise the brand when momentum flatlined.

With BBDO still at the creative helm, it has created a major campaign for M&M's to promote its new chocolate bar range, with Red (chocolate), Yellow (peanut), Green (hazelnut) and Orange (crispy) each having their own bar. As part of the digital push, a suite of over 50 digital assets featuring the characters stuck in the chocolate have been created.

Alongside the digital assets created in conjunction with CLM BBDO Paris, M&M's has resurfaced a film called 'Bad Passengers' that launched across the US earlier this year. Adapted for a UK audience, it sees the characters getting up to typical comic mischief. As a woman drives along in her car, she is disturbed by unruly behaviour in her back seat.

"Alright guys, that enough," she says into the rear mirror. "Don't put his foot in your face. Do I have to break you guys apart?" - alluding to the idea that it is her children messing around in the back.

As they continue to fight amongst themselves off-camera, the driver puts her foot on the break and turns to the back seat to say "if you don't stop, I'm going to eat all of you alive" and it becomes clear that the noise is coming from the M&M characters Red, Yellow and Orange, who are all stuck in a chocolate bar.

The campaign will launch across social media and digital out of home – supported by influencer campaigns and a brand partnership with LADbible.