A closer look
Steven Spielberg bought the licensing rights to Reese's Pieces for his blockbuster movie 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' after the Mars candy company completely refused to let him use M&M's for the famous alien baiting scene. The executives at Mars thought the concept of a wrinkled, glowing-fingered space goblin waddling through the woods was utterly terrifying and would severely damage their family-friendly chocolate brand. As a direct result of this hilariously terrible corporate decision, sales of the peanut butter candies exploded by an estimated three hundred percent within weeks of the film's theatrical release, cementing one of the most successful product placements in cinematic history. I can only imagine the amount of regret felt by the Mars marketing team when they realized they passed up a cultural phenomenon just because they thought an adorable animatronic alien looked a little bit too much like a wrinkly potato!
