The Bizarre Way M&M's Are Connected To NFTs
Candy lovers around the globe have a number of reasons to indulge in the colorful, iconic M&M's candy — and in 2022, some of those reasons have nothing to do with chocolate. Established in the 1940s as an American favorite, the brand has evolved over the years and adopted new mediums to reach consumers, including celebrity partnerships and expansion beyond the bounds of the tangible world.
To pique the interest of new and existing fans, M&M's has made some unexpected connections, such as when the brand created new sneakers with Adidas featuring the candy's logo and a retro design. In the last year, M&M's has also partnered with figures in the music industry while cultivating a mission statement of inclusivity and fun. The company not only teamed up with Lil Nas X to promote music as a way to foster community, but it also debuted a Music Lounge earlier this summer for listeners to come together in both real-life and virtual settings (via Adweek). Now, M&Ms' latest music connection crosses the bounds into virtual reality and the ubiquitous realm of NFTs.
The surprising relationship between Mars, music, and NFTs
Last week, Mars announced M&Ms' partnership with NFT music group KINGSHIP to create a special-edition candy aimed at music fans. Universal Music Group's 10:22, a Web3 record label, created KINGSHIP last fall. It's the first digital music group composed of characters from the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club: a specialized, highly sought-after group of NFTs that range from $150,000 to over $1 million and are popular among celebrities (via CNET).
M&Ms' partnership with KINGSHIP harkens back to the unusual M&M's rule in Van Halen's concert contracts, which required all the brown candies to be removed from their backstage candy bowl. Ultimately, the band had a sensible reason behind this requirement. Nevertheless, the KINGSHIP and M&M's campaign states that the brand has "found" all the missing M&M's and mixed them in with a selection of rare KINGSHIP-inspired candies printed with Bored Ape Yacht Club characters.
The duo only made 4,000 boxes of candy, and while the Gold edition (which included candies with the Captain, KING, Arnell, and Hud characters) has already sold out, there are still other KINGSHIP gifts available on the M&M's website. If NFTs aren't your thing, M&M's made another, more predictable fall move through a limited-edition candy mix to look for this Halloween.