Adding to the momentum of its national launch, M&M’s amps up its marketing efforts with the release of a digital film highlighting the comic camaraderie between the iconic Red and Yellow brand characters. The film sets a dialogue between Red and Yellow with reference to their grand debut in India, as they speak to their ‘fans’, laced with wit and humour. The campaign is conceptualised by RK Swamy BBDO.
Mars International India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mars Incorporated, launched M&M’s in India earlier this month. With this launch, Mars Chocolate aims to expand the nascent bite size category in India with a shareable snack for everyday occasions. M&M’s is available in two variants in India – chocolate and peanut.
Speaking about the film, Raghav Rekhi, Marketing Director, Mars Chocolate India, said, “Our job was to tell India who Red and Yellow are and more importantly, what characters they are like. We wanted to localise it to draw a connect with the Indian market and leveraged their global affability through a sweet tale of the simpleton Yellow and the sardonic Red. The films focus on the characters who are loved for their light-hearted humour, reflects the brand’s positioning, and we hope this brings a little fun into everyone’s lives.”
Navneet Virk, Creative Director and Senior Vice-President, RK Swamy BBDO, said, “As we browsed through the rich global repository of Red and Yellow's adventures, we thought this story did a fine job of telling consumers about the characters in just a few short dialogues, in a simple everyday situation. They are unique, and in that their humour is universal and endearing and talks to grown-ups.”
The film opens with Yellow announcing their arrival in India to their fans – only he is talking to the table fan. “Hello Fans!” he booms, “M&M’s are now in India!” On seeing Red’s exasperation, he clarifies that Red asked him to tell their fans that M&M’s are now in India. “Not those fans!” exclaims Red. “Oh!”, says Yellow apologetically, “did you mean this fan (a hand fan) or that one?”, he asks, pointing to the ceiling. With its simple narrative, the film appeals to consumers, while introducing them to their loved brand characters through their quintessential friendly banter.
The launch of M&M’s in India will be supported with a differentiated media mix – in line with the brands fun positioning.
Each M&M’s variant is unique and is instantly recognised by the iconic M&M’s characters. For the consumers, the “m” imprint on the M&M’s shell reassures them that they are sharing genuine M&M’s with their friends and loved ones.
With distribution network that spans the entire country, M&M’s® in India will be available in two shareable sizes of 45 gm pack and 100 gm pack, priced at Rs 80 and Rs 150. The launch of M&M’s® will be the latest addition to Mars Chocolate’s existing chocolate portfolio in the country, which comprises Snickers, Galaxy, Mars, Bounty and Twix.
In India, Mars operates in two categories, a pet care manufacturing and marketing business; and a chocolate importation and marketing operation. The chocolate segment has its corporate office in Gurgaon, New Delhi. The pet care business has its corporate office in Hyderabad. Mars India is presently engaged in manufacturing pet food under its global brands Pedigree and Whiskas. Mars India chocolate portfolio includes: Snickers, Galaxy, Mars, Bounty, Twix.
The TVC:
Credits:
Creative Agency: RK Swamy BBDO
President South and East: V. Vijay Gopal
Creative Team: Navneet Virk, R.Bala Kumar, Madhu Ravi
Account Management: Ramya Murthy, R.Mohan
Account Planning: Sagarika Gupta
Production Studio: O2 Films