By Megan Tripp, Staff Writer, Emerson College
When I first saw Naya Rivera gesturing toward the camera in a flowy white dress on a beach at sunset, I was excited. It was an M&M commercial, and Rivera, its star, was the only reason I had continued to watch Glee for so long (sorry Diana Agron, you were a close second). I was ready for two of my favorite things to come together to make a memorable Superbowl ad.
So imagine my distress when the ad was over and I was left confused and lost and wishing Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M had co-starred instead of Naya. I’m not sure what M&M was attempting to convey with this ad, but I was left feeling no desire to eat the candy, but rather a desire to go watch the M&M Christmas commercial where they stalk Santa simply to redeem the company’s ads in my mind.
Where to begin? I guess the song the commercial used would be a good place. Why a song, M&M? Why use an obscure song instead of the pessimistic witticisms that have made me fall in love with Mr. Red M&M in the past? But once Naya Rivera graced the screen, I felt like maybe this might turn out to be okay. After all, M&M’s crazier ideas (like pretzels inside M&Ms) have turned out to be pretty good. I was willing to look past the strange love song because of my trust in the M&M brand and their ability to bring me memorable ads in the past.
But then it changed. Why? The M&M is madly in love with Naya Rivera (because really, who isn’t?) one minute, but then starts yelling about what he won’t do for her. He resists her attempts to eat him while watching TV with her friends, to put him in a piñata, to make him into a sundae, a cake, and a delicious looking chocolate chip cookie, all of which are things I enjoy doing with M&Ms. Meanwhile, he’s crying while hiding behind the leg of the piano he just lovingly played a few seconds before. Now I don’t want to eat M&Ms ever again because my favorite little M&M character is traumatized by me doing so!
M&M, this can’t be what you wanted me to feel from this ad.
In the past, M&M ads have incorporated a cohesive story line; Mr. Red M&M and Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M encounter Santa in a living room while trying to give him Christmas candies; the same dynamic duo fumble on a talk show as Ms. Green M&M saunters out to talk about her dramatically more successful career; the two candies try to tell Darth Vader that they will not join the dark side with dark chocolate M&Ms. Or one of my favorites, the M&M commercial from the 2009 Superbowl, where Mr. Red M&M tries desperately to run on the conveyor belt away from the checkout line at a grocery store and eventually gives up and scans himself into the computer. He joins Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M in the grocery bag and sullenly informs him that they are not in fact on the guest list, but rather the menu. That’s a quirky, attention-grabbing story line! So where was the story in Naya’s ad?
Also, where was Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M? I missed the funny partnership that so many other of the company’s ads have brought me. Sure, I love me some Naya Rivera, but I missed Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M’s blind optimism and cute comments as a contrast to Mr. Red M&M’s gloomy and sarcastic responses. Those two have become as inseparable as Ben & Jerry or Mike & Ike. So where was Mr. Red M&M’s lovable partner?
The whole thing seemed incredibly forced and out of character. I like the idea of Naya Rivera being a part of M&M commercials, but she didn’t feel like she fit in. It felt to me like M&M was trying to do something that was not them and it fell flat. I hope that the next M&M commercial with a big name/face attached to it will bring back Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M and the dynamic duo’s crazy adventures. Dianna Agron, are you willing to take this challenge?
Megan Tripp is a junior WLP major who drinks way too much coffee and watches and re-watches Gilmore Girls way too often. She likes shiny things and looks forward to making a career out of making things up and writing them down.
When I first saw Naya Rivera gesturing toward the camera in a flowy white dress on a beach at sunset, I was excited. It was an M&M commercial, and Rivera, its star, was the only reason I had continued to watch Glee for so long (sorry Diana Agron, you were a close second). I was ready for two of my favorite things to come together to make a memorable Superbowl ad.
So imagine my distress when the ad was over and I was left confused and lost and wishing Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M had co-starred instead of Naya. I’m not sure what M&M was attempting to convey with this ad, but I was left feeling no desire to eat the candy, but rather a desire to go watch the M&M Christmas commercial where they stalk Santa simply to redeem the company’s ads in my mind.
Where to begin? I guess the song the commercial used would be a good place. Why a song, M&M? Why use an obscure song instead of the pessimistic witticisms that have made me fall in love with Mr. Red M&M in the past? But once Naya Rivera graced the screen, I felt like maybe this might turn out to be okay. After all, M&M’s crazier ideas (like pretzels inside M&Ms) have turned out to be pretty good. I was willing to look past the strange love song because of my trust in the M&M brand and their ability to bring me memorable ads in the past.
But then it changed. Why? The M&M is madly in love with Naya Rivera (because really, who isn’t?) one minute, but then starts yelling about what he won’t do for her. He resists her attempts to eat him while watching TV with her friends, to put him in a piñata, to make him into a sundae, a cake, and a delicious looking chocolate chip cookie, all of which are things I enjoy doing with M&Ms. Meanwhile, he’s crying while hiding behind the leg of the piano he just lovingly played a few seconds before. Now I don’t want to eat M&Ms ever again because my favorite little M&M character is traumatized by me doing so!
M&M, this can’t be what you wanted me to feel from this ad.
In the past, M&M ads have incorporated a cohesive story line; Mr. Red M&M and Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M encounter Santa in a living room while trying to give him Christmas candies; the same dynamic duo fumble on a talk show as Ms. Green M&M saunters out to talk about her dramatically more successful career; the two candies try to tell Darth Vader that they will not join the dark side with dark chocolate M&Ms. Or one of my favorites, the M&M commercial from the 2009 Superbowl, where Mr. Red M&M tries desperately to run on the conveyor belt away from the checkout line at a grocery store and eventually gives up and scans himself into the computer. He joins Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M in the grocery bag and sullenly informs him that they are not in fact on the guest list, but rather the menu. That’s a quirky, attention-grabbing story line! So where was the story in Naya’s ad?
Also, where was Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M? I missed the funny partnership that so many other of the company’s ads have brought me. Sure, I love me some Naya Rivera, but I missed Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M’s blind optimism and cute comments as a contrast to Mr. Red M&M’s gloomy and sarcastic responses. Those two have become as inseparable as Ben & Jerry or Mike & Ike. So where was Mr. Red M&M’s lovable partner?
The whole thing seemed incredibly forced and out of character. I like the idea of Naya Rivera being a part of M&M commercials, but she didn’t feel like she fit in. It felt to me like M&M was trying to do something that was not them and it fell flat. I hope that the next M&M commercial with a big name/face attached to it will bring back Mr. Yellow Peanut M&M and the dynamic duo’s crazy adventures. Dianna Agron, are you willing to take this challenge?
Megan Tripp is a junior WLP major who drinks way too much coffee and watches and re-watches Gilmore Girls way too often. She likes shiny things and looks forward to making a career out of making things up and writing them down.