Reading blogger M.B Henry’s recent post about the history of M&M’s candies jarred loose a memory from my whirlwind New York City Christmas trip.

In Times Square, there is a place called M&M’s World. Consequently, the M&M’s characters could be seen in advertising throughout Times Square and I grabbed a few snapshots of the cultural icons.

Here’s the store sign. I still wish for a better picture but we were being jostled down the street in a mass of humanity at this point so this is about as good as it could get.

And here’s just one of the giant digital ads I noticed. This one was on their building.

What I wouldn’t give for just a fraction of their marketing budget. Marketers everywhere would probably fall over if they knew how much this brand spends in a day. The advertising geek in me would love having colorful little mascots to play with in ads.

Anyway, this store is a popular stop and likely a sight to behold on the inside. There was a long line just to get in so we kept moving. Imagine all the presentation opportunities for these colorful little candies. You can even print your own specialty M&Ms.

If you get a chance, read M.B. Henry’s story “M&M’s: A Crunchy Colorful Story.” I didn’t realize the candy was inspired by a British product and had totally forgotten the 1995 shake-up of replacing the tan M&M with a blue one! It’s a fun and educational walk down memory lane.