Thanks to the readers who alerted us to the kaleidoscopic M&Ms commercial featuring Iron & Wine’s “Such Great Heights.” Here’s the video link for the curious: Win | QT

Comments (51)
  1. Alex  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    I like that commercial! Complete with m&m eating indie hipster.

  2. mike  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    It will get annoying.

  3. Justin  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    Man, I remember eating M&Ms when you could only get them at, like, nationwide supermarket chains and 7-11s. Now you totally see them at Wal-Mart and Target. Just another example of commercialization of something that was once organic and authentic. Hey, does anyone have any coke?

  4. Accusations of sellout starting in 3…2…1…

  5. Andrew  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    I hope that last post was a joke.

  6. What. The. Fuck?

  7. Barbarella  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    This comercial make me feel a little dizzy ; )

  8. Barbarella  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    commercial

  9. sara  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    seriously, we’re not going to start complaining that good music is going mainstream, are we? seriously now.

  10. Nate  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    Well, I wouldn’t complain, except that it’s the worst track in the entire I&W catalogue.

  11. there are two versions of the commercial – this one and one tht uses the Postal Service’s version., or at least a faster viersion, they tend to air in consecutive commercial breaks.

  12. robb  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    Man, I was eating M&Ms long before Pitchfork hyped them up. Now I just eat them to be ironic.

  13. M&Ms sound like to much like David Byrne.

  14. that ad is ultra creepy w/that song in it. congrats to m & m’s for being weird and not caring.

  15. it looks like the creative director just slapped that last thing that was on their ipod over whatever they got. it doesn’t even match up w/the beat!

  16. kevin  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    the music doesn’t gel very well with the imagery.

  17. Yep, the music and visuals seem wrongly matched. I’m all for innovative uses of catchy songs, but this just seems weird.

    As for worst song in I&W’s catalogue? Uhm…howabout best? And it’s not even his…

  18. Doug Datish  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    I agree it’s the worst I & W track and DUHHH it’s not his- was that comment necessary? ummmmm. Did Zach Braff direct this commercial? Where’s that joker that said he was going to post the new Death Cab single. I hear Butterfinger is using it in their new ad.

  19. Kate  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    I agree with meg. Totally thoughtless production. I don’t think it is I&W worst track, I just wish that commericals would start playing a different song other than The District Sleeps Alone Tonight. What really offends me is the shiny 2005 coke zero commericial with fucking G Love wanting to teach the world to chill.

  20. Doug Datish  |   Posted on Jul 6th, 2005

    Kate, Amen to that (Coke commercial)

  21. Let’s ask Hogan, he seems to know best.

  22. punk just died again

  23. H3C70R  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    reminds me of those kaleidscopic ads for Fruitopia (mid to late 90s) with the Cocteau Twins songs:
    http://www.cocteautwins.com/html/media/audio/fruitopia_1.mp3

    http://www.cocteautwins.com/html/media/audio/fruitopia_1.mp3

    Anybody remember those?

  24. Remember, Sam Beam has a wife and three young children… if this commercial pays for their college fund (or a new house, or whatever!), then it’s totally worth it!

    Go Sam GO!

  25. benny  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    Rumor is that M&Ms paid over $500,000 to use this song — Sam can send his grandkids to college…..

  26. anyone see the mcdonalds commercial featuring the chromeo song? now that’s bad. if I may, let me introduce the all new sellout alert level.

    chromeo + mcdonalds = red(bad)

    sam beam + m&ms = amber(not so bad)

  27. my brain was bleeding after i saw this ad on the tele.

  28. Craig  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    SELL OUT!

  29. Kevin  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    i wanna see the mnm commercial with the devendra banhart song in it

  30. lola  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    i think the real question remains: do sam, jimmy, and ben all get lifetime supplies of m&ms? b/c that would be awesome.

  31. Makes me think:

    What commercial would be most funny to hear a Joanna Newsom song in?

  32. Nelson  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    “Where is your inflammatory writ?”

    “Should’ve used FedEx.”

  33. inflammatory writ paired up with hemorrhoid medicine, with slightly altered lyrics,

    “oh where are your inflammatory pads,
    for piles that would incite when you sat,
    an anus deserving this potion unswerving
    cry do I deserve this unflagging burning”

  34. HiLife  |   Posted on Jul 7th, 2005

    eww, that curly haired geekster grabbed one of those innocent living m&m’s, didn’t any of you notice that? is there a peta equivalent for m&m’s? maybe I should start one, this is terrible.

    oh, and it totally reminded me of the fruitopia commercials? are the 90′s back already? I thought we were still milkin’ the ’80′s

  35. Didn’t the volkswagon people do these same types of advertisements back when they were introducing the new volkswagen bug?

    It was them or apple. Dennis Miller did a pretty funny parody back in ’96 about those commercials.

  36. allison  |   Posted on Jul 9th, 2005

    too bad devendra banhart already did fat tire commercials. those are nice though.

    i agree with the weird tempos not matching up. doesn’t fit.

  37. corky sherwood-forrest  |   Posted on Jul 11th, 2005

    is it just my vision or do none of these m&m’s have beards?

    i think the world ended when scott began the indie-yuppie conversation. i now find myself buying a cup of coffee and singing along to “the engine driver” with middle-aged midwestern farmers (who can relate?) thanks, gum. bleck.

  38. aaron  |   Posted on Jul 13th, 2005

    i have nothing against iron & wine being on a commercial, but that m&ms deal made me cringe.

    you can obviously tell the people who put that together have horrible taste.

  39. Rain  |   Posted on Jul 25th, 2005

    Well they make M&Ms…

  40. s8ist  |   Posted on Jul 25th, 2005

    first it was The Cure in those HP commercials, then I heard some FNM songs(at least FNM are no longer around). now we have a postal service song on an M&M commercial? i also heard them on some medical drama bullshit. man, that’s stupid. i would say i’m ashamed of listening to them except for the fact that nobody knows who the fuck they are. oh, and then there was that My Little Pony commercial with Deicide in it.

  41. This commerical is great….For a damn commerical. The song is beautifull. BUT. They should of used “THE POSTAL SERVICE” verison of the song “Such Great Heights”.

  42. Monarch  |   Posted on Aug 3rd, 2005

    i really like that commercial, shaddap yall =P

  43. solosoul  |   Posted on Aug 5th, 2005

    is there really an entire page here of comments about an M&M commercial and a song that plays on it?

  44. does ne one have the link to the song played on the new mnm commercial? i luv it…i like it better than the remake by the postal service..

  45. junque  |   Posted on Aug 17th, 2005

    From Willie Nelson on a GAP (sweatshop) ad to whomever is selling Nick Drake’s estate to Bowie selling that one Iggy Pop song he owns to whomever is selling the Stones stuff (including them)… now this. This is so current. I’m pissed off. By the way, the Coca-cola bottling company is responsible for the kidnapping, torture and murder of union organizers in Colombia. People should do a little research before they put their name all over the front of a corporate flagship with many, many, closets.

  46. Betsy  |   Posted on Sep 1st, 2005

    What the fuck, man? This commercial makes me feel dirty inside. It’s one thing when corporate advertising is telling me that I need to consume their economically-and-environmentally-shitty products in order to be mainstream and popular, but it just creeps me out when that corporate advertising is telling me that I need to consume said products in order to be indie and unique. ‘Cause those are actually things I -wanna- be! *shudder*

    Then again, who says Iron and Wine (or Postal Service, or Garden State) has any obligation to keep separated from popular culture and remain loyal to the indie culture that’s latched onto it?

  47. kyle  |   Posted on Sep 25th, 2005

    you people think you are such critics. first of all, the commercial is brilliant. if you knew anything about the 60′s, you would know that the song matches perfectly. the slower the better. but anyway, i’m wasting my time. people are always gonna criticize anything new and creative. and also, iron and wine are selling out?? that’s ridiculous. if you think mainstream is an m&m commericial, then you obviously don’t know much. “hey, we like your song, can we use it for a m&m commercial?” i&w:”dude, no, we’re not sell outs”..only a bitter and self centered punk would respond like that. all i have to say is back off iron and wine and m&ms, let them do what they do and you go do whatever mindless stuff you think is so “cool”

  48. sarah  |   Posted on Sep 25th, 2005

    Have Mcdonalds ripped off Joanna Newsoms music or did she sell her soul for a burger? The latest Australian ad features a tune very similar in style to Joanna Newsom- it is a bad association whatever the case may be…

  49. Smitty  |   Posted on Nov 6th, 2005

    I like this cover, but I saw a different version of this commercial… same visual & song, but different part of the song. Original version: http://www.subpop.com/bands/postalservice/downloads.php

  50. Smitty  |   Posted on Nov 6th, 2005

    I like this cover, but I saw a different version of this commercial… same visual & song, but different part of the song. Original version: http://www.subpop.com/bands/postalservice/downloads.php

  51. stefan  |   Posted on Jan 15th, 2006

    hey s8tist, before you throw inyour 2 cents, get the facts. if you’re refering to the theme song on that “medical drama bullshit” (Grey’s Anatomy), it’s a electronica group called Psapp, not the postal service

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