Kenan Thompson has a long history with the fruit-flavored pellet candy known as Mike & Ike.
“I was already familiar with it because it was one of the candy I remember getting when I went to the movies or on road trips,” he recalled in a recent email exchange. Now he has a chance to bring a new audience to this time-honored confection. Just Born, the candy company that first released Mike & Ike in 1940, has hired the “SNL” veteran to direct a new advertising campaign. Executives hope to make familiar sweets even more delicious for young snackers.
The “SNL” star directed a new ad campaign (his commercial directorial debut) that featured Mike and Ike as characters for the first time. For decades, the name simply referred to two types of fruit-flavored candy beans: short and long.
“We treated them like any other comedy duo: One character sees the world one way, and the other character sees the world in a completely different way,” Thompson says. “Once you get that dynamic, you can throw them into almost any situation and the jokes will get noticed.”
Owners of Just Born Quality Confections, Mike & Ike, face similar challenges to other established candy makers such as Hershey and Ferrara Candy Co. How do you make a product that’s been around for years interesting to a generation of younger consumers whose food consumption preferences are very different from those of their elders? Ferrara has transformed Nerd, once a box of fruit-flavored pebbles, into a curious, crunchy and gummy product that offers a unique “mouthfeel” to curious palates. Hershey’s, perhaps the nation’s most famous purveyor of chocolate candy, has infused its famous Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with caramel and “chocolate lava.”
Millennial and Gen Z consumers expect more from commercials, Meenakshi Trehan, chief growth officer at Mike & Ike, also said in an email. These buyers are “constantly navigating culture, content, and conversation in real time. They appreciate humor, relatability, and brands that don’t feel overly polished or self-important,” she says.
In a series of spots, the two candies help you avoid everyday problems like being ghosted, losing Wi-Fi, or receiving too many Slack messages at once. What’s the new slogan? “We Got Chew”
“We looked at everyday moments that we’ve all experienced, like an awkward email, forgetting someone’s name, or having a conversation that no one wants to have, and imagined how Mike and Ike would react,” Thompson says. “Instead of making Candy a joke, we created two characters who could bring humor to situations that people would instantly recognize.”
In addition to four traditional ad spots, Thompson helped create behind-the-scenes content and social media enhancements.
Throughout his career, the actor has developed a strong sense of what works creatively in the short term. Thompson has created dozens of sketches on Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “Saturday Night Live.” “One thing comedy has taught me over the years is that the funniest moments usually come from characters you believe in,” Thompson says. “Whether it’s skit comedy, television or commercials, the important thing is always to create a personality that people enjoy watching.”
Giving more personality to candied characters will only help build better relationships with consumers, Trehan says. “Mike and Ike are iconic names, but fans never really had the chance to meet them. Now they have personalities, opinions, and unique views of the world. They’re funny, a little bit absurd, and always ready to help people chew through life’s little dramas,” she says. “We see them as an extension of the brand’s playfulness and a way to engage with consumers beyond the candy aisle.”
Just Born has a wide portfolio of long-selling sweets, including Peeps, Hot Tamales and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. If Mike and Ike can forge new connections, perhaps others can as well.
