M&M’s Spokescandies Survive the Love Island Villa

The M&M’s spokescandies have arrived on Love Island – and they’re worried the Islanders are into them for the wrong reasons.

As part of the Mars-owned confectionery brand’s partnership with ‘Love Island USA’, BBDO Chicago has partnered with PRETTYBIRD director Rami Hachache to launch a film, ‘Hideaway’, which plays off the show’s infamous diary room confessions.

In the hideaway, the candy characters deliver piece-to-camera revelations that their fellow contestants’ biting might not be as romantic as they first thought.

According to BBDO creative director Abigail Chieppa, this adult humour is what countless memorable M&M’s ads have thrived on and, she explains, “Many of the Love Island circumstances (confessionals, vernacular, etc.) offered opportunities to maximise that.”

“Having the walking, talking spokescandies within the villa environment and the double meaning of former Love Island talent being interested in eating them (instead of coupling up with them) also provided a natural environment for humour,” she adds. “At the end of the day, M&M’s and Love Island are both deliciously irresistible. Put a bunch of temptation, chemistry and cheeky innuendos in one place and the jokes practically write themselves.”

Having the spokescandies appear as contestants allowed the brand to lean into the show’s vernacular and play within the world in a way few brands can do. Combined with Love Island’s “flirty banter, dramatic re-couplings and irresistible moments”, it’s the “perfect playground for M&M’s humour”, says BBDO creative director Colin O’Toole. “There's a natural overlap between desire and hunger, which gave us endless ways to have fun within these iconic fan-favourite scenarios.”

However, as is often the case, time presented a challenge for the creative team. “There were so many amazing opportunities between Love Island and M&M’s but we had to prioritise what was going to have the biggest humour impact and feel most relevant for fans,” they share. “From shoot days to post production timelines, there were so many additional jokes that we had to leave on the cutting room floor, but feel confident that the ones that made it into our final content are the best-of-the best.”

Beyond this spot, the team sees the M&M’s-Love Island connection as particularly strong, thanks to the snack being a go-to choice for watch parties.

The wider campaign involves gamified play-along watch party packs, streaming media integration with pause ads that connect audiences to on-demand delivery, and social activations and posts, participating in the conversations occurring on people’s feeds as the episodes unfold.