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M&M’s launches nationwide scavenger hunt to help superfan find missing collectible

Public Relations and Communications

Business Honor: M&M’s Nationwide Collectible Hunt

Business Honor
25 November, 2025

Brand celebrates devoted collector with campaign inspiring fan community engagement across social platforms.

M&M's has launched a national scavenger hunt to help a superfan find a missing of his 30-plus-year collection, in what might be a landmark moment in brand engagement and consumer-driven storytelling. The PR program focuses on Rick Stephan, an Indianapolis-based collector who, since receiving his first piece blue basketball M&M's dispenser-from his daughters back in 1994, has accumulated more than 3,000 pieces of M&M's memorabilia. Today, Stephan is on the lookout for just one item: a vintage M&M's apple tree salt-and-pepper shaker set he has been trying to find for more than three years.

Mars - the parent company of M&M's - learned of Stephan's story when it aired as a local news segment. Immediately, the brand saw an opportunity to turn his passion into a brand-building moment. Jessica Adelman, communications and change leader at Mars, said the team immediately saw the potential for a campaign rooted in fun, nostalgia and community.

The brand issued a public call-to-action, asking fans to search their attics, family kitchens and thrift stores for the rare collectible. To boost engagement, M&M's has shared interviews with Stephan and his wife Nancy-along with behind-the-scenes glimpses at his assemblage of clocks, phones, toy cars and memorabilia-on both its Instagram and TikTok channels. Boasting more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram and more than 257,000 on TikTok, the campaign is sure to drive high levels of social interaction and fan participation.

Stephan hopes the scavenger hunt encourages other collectors and reinforces fan bonds, citing the existence of online communities like the M&M's Collectors Club, where members can trade, buy and discuss items from one another. Mars remains confident that the missing piece will be found, meanwhile, with Stephan's dedication reflective of the deep emotional affinity the brand has been able to build up over generations.