Mars Won't Be Releasing Its Super Bowl Ad Early

As it prepares to run a Super Bowl ad for the fourth straight year, Mars is taking what you might call an old fashioned approach. Rather than releasing its 30-second M&Ms spot early to create some buzz — as has been the trend of late — the candy maker still believes in the power of what top North American marketer Roy Benin calls the “anticipation bubble.”

“We are continuing with what we call our surprise-and-delight approach,” said Mr. Benin, the chief consumer officer for Mars Chocolate North America. “There’s that first-time, premier reveal [in game] that we believe is compelling.”

Indeed, Mars declined to discuss even basic elements of the ad – and has no plans to do so — unlike some other marketers, which seek free publicity by touting ads in mainstream media. What’s known is that the ad is by BBDO, New York and will run in the first quarter. Mr. Benin told Ad Age that the spot will be part of a new campaign debuting next week that uses a new tagline “Better With M,” which replaces old line — “not your average chocolate.”

Mars in recent years has been known to struggle with the decision over plugging its Snickers brand or M&Ms in the Super Bowl. Snickers appeared in 2010 and 2011, before M&Ms made its third Super Bowl appearance last year, following ads in 2000 and 2002.

The first TV spot [below] is called “devour” and will debut next week on broadcast and cable TV networks. The ad shows the familiar byplay between the characters and humans with Ms. Brown setting up Red with a hot and hungry, sexy red head.