M&M's ended an 11-year Halloween hiatus with a spot where Yellow didn't make it

Revive the brand's dormant Halloween commercial tradition with a comedic M&M's take on the classic ghost story, playing on the longstanding irresistibility storyline: what surviving Halloween is like when you are a delicious piece of chocolate.

Red and Yellow think they survived another Halloween — until Yellow floats away as a ghost with a bite taken out of his back: he was eaten after all.

A 15-second spot, 'Ghosted', plus a 6-second online version, 'Eaten'; both were also developed in Spanish for Hispanic-focused audiences, with new Halloween-themed print ads running on TV, online and in print through the season.

The brand's first new Halloween commercial since 'Headless Horseman' in 2007, joining a canon alongside 2000's 'Ding Dong' that had kept running intermittently for years.

In October 2018, M&M's released its first new Halloween commercial in 11 years. Produced by BBDO New York, the 15-second spot 'Ghosted' takes a humorous look at 'surviving' the scariest night of the year — which turns out to be even scarier when you are an M&M's character.

The spot opens on Red and Yellow leaving the aftermath of a Halloween party, seemingly unscathed, as Red remarks how glad he is they made it through another Halloween without being eaten. Yellow agrees — but looks a little more ghostly. Only at the end, when Yellow floats away with a bite taken out of his back, does the audience realise he didn't survive after all.

The commercial extends the brand's longstanding irresistibility storyline — life, or death, as a delicious piece of chocolate. A 6-second version, 'Eaten', ran online, and both spots were developed in Spanish for Hispanic-focused audiences, alongside new Halloween-themed print ads.

Senior brand director Allison Miazga-Bedrick said the brand wanted to surprise fans 'in a colourful new way that brings humour to one of the scariest nights of the year by sharing a comedic, M&M'S take on the classic ghost story.'

Fan affection for the old Halloween spots — 2007's 'Headless Horseman' and 2000's 'Ding Dong' — showed a dormant ritual worth reviving.

The ghost punchline weaponises the brand's oldest premise, irresistibility: the joke only works because the characters are literally delicious.

Short-form and Spanish versions stretched one production across online video and a Hispanic-focused audience without new ideas.

Pairing the film with print let the Halloween theme own the whole seasonal mix, not just the TV break.

A dormant brand ritual is an asset: revive it with a twist on the oldest joke in the book — the bite mark was there from the first frame, hiding in plain sight.

'Ghosted' and 'Eaten' ran on TV and online through the 2018 Halloween season alongside the new print ads, joining the brand's intermittent rotation of classic Halloween spots from 2000 and 2007.