M&Ms has issued a sequel to its long-running holiday ad, finally answering the question some may have pondered: what happens to Christmas if Santa Claus faints?
In the original M&Ms “Faint” spot from 1996, the chocolate brand’s Red and Yellow spokescandies were bringing a bowl of red and green M&Ms into the living room for Santa. The duo and Santa were startled by each other’s presence (and existence) and Santa and Red pass out.
“Uh, Santa?” Yellow, wearing a Santa hat, says as the 15-second spot ends. That spot, from BBDO, has run since then with that minor cliffhanger. Now, the Mars brand is out with a longer, heartwarming ending.
“I have to save Christmas,” Yellow declares in “Faint 2: A Very Yellow Sequel,” which debuted as a 90-second online video.
Yellow sets off in Santa’s sleigh and begins dropping off presents. The problem is, Yellow doesn’t possess any of Santa’s delivery prowess, so lots of presents wind up in the wrong places. A child receives a toaster, while a man is surprised to open a box of women’s high heels. North Pole Mission Control realizes something is amiss and places a call to the man in the big red suit, waking him from his slumber. While mission control’s technology appears to be from way earlier than 1996, M&Ms also live in an age when Santa would have a smartphone. Anyway, soon enough the present mishaps are resolved, bringing people together in the process.
A 60-second version is set to debut in the U.S. during NBC’s broadcast of Wednesday night’s Christmas Tree lighting at New York’s Rockefeller Center. “Faint 2” will also run in 11 other global markets, M&Ms said.
The new spot was created and produced by CLM BBDO in France, with support from BBDO New York.
from Creativity-Online: http://creativity-online.com/work/mms-faint-2-a-very-yellow-sequel-90/53325
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