E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Product Placement

When it comes to product placement, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is one of the most fascinating case studies in Hollywood history. Mars Inc. famously turned down the chance to feature M&M's, so Hershey's swooped in without even reading the script. Reese's Pieces sales reportedly jumped 65–85% after the film's 1982 release, and Hershey's $1 million investment generated an estimated $15–20 million in promotional value. Stick around, and you'll uncover the full story behind this candy-fueled cultural moment.

Key Takeaways

• Mars, Inc. famously rejected the placement opportunity for M&M's, allowing Hershey's Reese's Pieces to become E.T.'s iconic candy instead.
• Hershey committed $1 million to promotional advertising without reading the script or meeting Spielberg, securing exclusive association with the film.
• Reese's Pieces sales jumped up to 85% within weeks of the film's June 1982 release, with distributors reordering up to ten times.
• The candy served as a genuine plot device, luring E.T. and becoming central to the film's emotional storytelling.
• The placement's massive success helped spawn the modern product placement industry, now valued at billions of dollars globally.

Why Mars Inc. Said No to M&Ms (And Regretted It)

When Melissa Mathison wrote the script for E.T., she included a trail of M&Ms as the candy Elliott uses to lure the alien from the woods to his San Fernando Valley home. Spielberg wanted M&Ms for product placement, but corporate pride and a negotiation breakdown derailed the deal.

Mars Inc.'s John and Forrest Mars were known for tyrannical, frugal business dealings, and they rejected the offer without fully reviewing the script. Spielberg's team kept plot details secret, creating a catch-22 that prevented Mars from seeing the film's potential.

Hershey moved quickly, substituting Reese's Pieces instead. Jack Dowd, Hershey's Vice President for New Business Development, accepted the deal despite never being allowed to read the script and never meeting Spielberg. Mars deeply regretted saying no after E.T.'s release, watching Hershey earn an estimated $15–20 million in promotion for just a $1 million investment. In the weeks following the film's June 1982 release, Reese's Pieces sales jumped 85%, a staggering boost that cemented the placement as one of the most profitable decisions in advertising history.

How Reese's Pieces Got the Biggest Cameo in Cinema

Hershey stepped in quickly after Mars turned down the offer, securing one of the most profitable cameos in cinema history without paying a single dollar for screen time. Instead, Hershey committed $1 million to promotional advertising, letting E.T. appear in their candy ads while supplying stickers and posters declaring Reese's Pieces as E.T.'s favorite candy.

The candy's colorful yellow, orange, and brown shells tapped into color psychology, making them visually ideal for Elliott's trail scene. That moment fused childhood nostalgia with genuine emotional storytelling, connecting audiences to the candy through curiosity and trust rather than a hard sell. You never hear the brand name spoken aloud, yet sales jumped 65% within weeks. Hershey turned a simple placement into $15–20 million in recognition value.

The E.T. placement fundamentally changed Hollywood partnerships, with brands across every industry rushing to replicate the strategy by embedding their products into film narratives rather than relying solely on traditional advertising. Reese's Pieces developed a lasting nostalgic association with the film that competitors like M&Ms, who had originally passed on the opportunity, could never reclaim. The entire situation stemmed from a secrecy and script conflict, as Mars had requested to read the full screenplay before granting approval, but Spielberg refused to share it with outside companies. Much like the Garden of Earthly Delights, whose true meaning remains debated among scholars, the deeper cultural impact of E.T.'s product placement continues to fuel discussion about the fine line between art and commerce in filmmaking.

The Product Placement Deal That Rewrote Hollywood's Rulebook

What Mars turned down became one of the most consequential business mistakes in advertising history. By refusing Spielberg's offer, Mars surrendered a cultural moment that Hershey quietly seized. For just $1 million in advertising promotion, Hershey secured E.T. licensing rights and demonstrated textbook brand synergy — its product didn't interrupt the story; it drove it forward.

You can trace today's $1.2 billion film placement industry directly back to that single deal. Reese's Pieces sales surged 65%, with some reports citing a tripling within two weeks. Vendors couldn't keep shelves stocked.

The success also sparked conversations around placement ethics, pushing studios and brands to pursue organic integration rather than forced visibility. E.T. didn't just sell candy — it rewrote how Hollywood and advertisers do business together. The film went on to become the highest-grossing movie in history, pulling in $793 million worldwide and cementing its cultural footprint far beyond the candy aisle.

In the film, Reese's Pieces weren't simply background props — they were used to lure E.T., making the candy central to the plot's emotional core and setting a new standard for what product placement could achieve narratively.

How Elliott's Candy Trail Became the Film's Most Effective Scene

Few scenes in cinema history pull off what Spielberg managed in that quiet backyard sequence. You watch Elliott scatter Reese's Pieces across the dark woods, and the visual storytelling does all the heavy lifting.

No dialogue explains the plan — you simply see a child using what he has to reach something utterly unknown.

When E.T. follows that trail into the house, clutching a handful of candy, the emotional payoff hits hard. It's not just a plot mechanic moving you from discovery to cohabitation. It's the birth of trust between two isolated beings.

Spielberg earns this moment by planting the candy earlier at the dinner table, so when it pays off here, every thread connects. You feel the friendship form in real time, built from something as simple as sugar. The Reese's Pieces trail also sets up repeated motif payoffs that ripple through the rest of the film, with the candy reappearing at key moments as a signal of trust and connection.

The candy in Elliott's hands almost looked very different — Mars, Inc. declined to grant Universal permission to use M&Ms, pushing the production toward Reese's Pieces instead. Much like the way lure coursing evolved after the 2005 British fox hunting ban, the production adapted to unexpected restrictions and arrived at a solution that ultimately proved more effective than the original vision would have been, with Reese's Pieces sales reportedly skyrocketing after release.

How Reese's Pieces Sales Exploded After E.T. Hit Theaters

The numbers that followed E.T.'s June 1982 release tell a story almost as remarkable as the film itself. Before viral merchandising even had a name, Reese's Pieces demonstrated what authentic story integration could accomplish:

1. Sales tripled within two weeks of the film's debut
2. Overall sales jumped 65% almost immediately
3. Some distributors reordered product ten times during those first two weeks
4. Hershey's $1 million investment generated $15–20 million in equivalent promotional value

Distribution shortages hit fast, leaving Hershey scrambling to fulfill unprecedented demand. The company had been building additional manufacturing capacity beforehand, which proved fortunate timing. What once faced potential discontinuation now carved out a permanent niche in candy history—and pop culture—that you're still talking about today. Remarkably, Reese's Pieces only landed the role because Mars declined the offer to feature M&M's in the film, handing Hershey an opportunity that would redefine the brand entirely. The man behind Hershey's bold decision was Jack Dowd, the company's vice-president of new-business development, who committed to the deal without ever seeing the script or meeting Spielberg personally.