• by Sarah Mahoney , May 28, 2026

Who doesn’t love a little focus-group comedy? In new ads for Snickers Peanut Butter, Mars recruits a whole room full of people named Reese, and a moderator skillfully nudging them all toward rave reviews.

The campaign tackles the creamy vs. crunchy peanut butter debate head-on, with all the Reeses (even the interloper named Greg) giving nothing but good notes on the Snickers Peanut Butter's multisensory satisfaction. When that’s done, the moderator unveils the next surprise, in a bar of Snickers Peanut Butter Ice Cream. (Spoiler alert: All the Reeses like that variety, too.)

BBDO created the campaign, which extends into a national pledge, inviting all Americans named Reese (first, middle, last, or any spelling variation) to pledge loyalty to Snickers Peanut Butter, earning a chance to win a year's supply. The new work builds on the brand's "Stuck" ad, released last month, which highlights how hunger can lead to indecisiveness.

The spot also shows how determined Mars is to dethrone rival Hershey, the No. 1 confection brand in the U.S. And it's a not-so-subtle callback to another Reese-related moment that hurt the Mars rival. That's when Brad Reese, the 70-year-old grandson of Peanut Butter Cups founder H.B. Reese, complained that Hershey had quietly replaced milk chocolate and peanut butter with cheaper substitutes.

Influencer MrBeast called these comments out to all 34 million of his followers, amplifying what might have been a quiet brand controversy into a full-blown public relations crisis for Hershey.

Hershey responded by promising to return to all chocolate in all its products by next year.

But regardless of which chocolate-peanut butter brand wins, the overall chocolate business seems unlikely to lose. While other candies -- including gummies -- are growing, chocolate is still king, generating $28.4 billion in annual sales, reports the National Confectioners Association, or 52% of the industry total.  And even if money is tight,  nine out of 10 people in the NCA study say they sometimes buy chocolate for personal enjoyment and consider it an affordable luxury. About 72% think chocolate is part of a happy, balanced life.