What chocolate tells us about international humour

“Alf Stewart / Ray Meagher”, 2013

Persona: Ray Meagher plays his grumpy Home and Away character Alf Stewart as the hungry alter ego of a young trail-bike rider.

What they become: Alf becomes the young rider again after eating Snickers.

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“Vestiário / Changing Room”, 2015

Persona: Actress Claudia Raia appears as an irritable male footballer complaining about his missing deodorant.

What they become: She becomes the ordinary male teammate again

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“Lin Daiyu / Goalkeeper”

Persona: A hungry goalkeeper appears as Lin Daiyu, the female character from Dream of the Red Chamber.

What they become: Lin Daiyu becomes the original goalkeeper after eating Snickers.

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“Gremlins”, 2013; companion Chantal Goya film

Persona: In the main advert, a hungry friend becomes an obnoxious Gremlin while helping move furniture.

What they become: The Gremlin represents the friend’s hunger-altered state; Snickers restores his human identity.

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“Diva”; German-language upload dated 2012

Persona: Joan Collins plays the complaining, diva-like version of a footballer called Tim in a changing room.

What they become: Collins becomes the ordinary male footballer again. (note: not just run in Germany!)

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Rekha and Urmila Matondkar; 2013

Persona: Rekha plays the irritated, diva-like version of a boy travelling with friends to play cricket. Urmila Matondkar appears as a second hungry persona later in the film.

What they become: Rekha becomes the boy again after eating Snickers. Later, the driver appears as Urmila and throws a tantrum; the friends produce another bar

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Erika Sawajiri “Soccer Edition”, 2011 AND 2013

Persona: Sawajiri plays the grouchy version of a male footballer. In another execution, Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. appear as tantrum-throwing baseball players.

What they become: Sawajiri becomes the cheerful male player again. The t.A.T.u. execution restores the ordinary baseball players after the Snickers intervention

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Anahí / BMX, 2011

Persona: Singer and actress Anahí plays the hungry persona of Carlos, a young BMX rider who crashes and argues with his friends.

What they become: Anahí becomes Carlos after eating Snickers; he then performs bike tricks

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“Basketball / Volochkova”, 2010

Persona: Ballerina Anastasia Volochkova appears in a tutu during a street-basketball game, playing the hungry version of a male teammate.

What they become: Ballerina becomes the ordinary male basketball player, addressed as Diman, after eating Snickers.

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“Hungry Face Morph”, December 2013

Persona: University students see their own faces transformed into exaggerated, zombie-like hungry versions

What they become: The participant’s face is digitally altered — ie, it’s not just a a scripted celebrity-to-ordinary-person television advert.

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“El Chiringuito / Beach Bar”, 2021

Persona: Influencer Aless Gibaja orders a “sexy orange juice” in a flamboyant manner.

What they become: After biting a Snickers ice-cream bar, Gibaja is replaced by a bearded, short-haired man with a deep voice (note: The advert was withdrawn following criticism that it was homophobic)

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“Assolistler / Star Singers”, 2011

Persona: Singers Muazzez Abacı and Gönül Yazar embody difficult, hungry personalities during a house move, complaining and bickering while furniture is carried.

What they become: The singers represent the hunger-altered versions of the movers; the Snickers intervention restores the ordinary-person identity.

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“Mr Bean / Kung Fu”, 2014; Joan Collins and Stephanie Beacham

Persona: Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean is the hapless, hungry version of a martial-arts fighter. In the changing-room execution, Collins and Beacham embody diva-like male footballers.

What they become: Mr Bean becomes a super competent kung-fu fighter.

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“Game / Betty White”, 2010

Persona: Betty White plays the hungry, underperforming version of a player in a casual American-football game.

What they become: Bette becomes an ordinary young male player after eating Snickers. (shown at superbowl)

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Rolo — “Elephant”, 1996

A boy tricks a baby elephant out of a Rolo. Years later, the elephant remembers “the last rolo”

Nestlé Crunch — “Napoléon”, 1980s

The snap of a chocolate bar leading Napoleon to victory (and more) – great sound effects; not quite what the french mean by “craquer”?

Garoto Baton — “Compre Baton / Buy Baton”, 1992

A child swings a chocolate like a hypnotist’s pendulum. Subtle persuasion has left the building.

Ferrero Duplo — “Probably the Smartest Praline in the World”, 2016

Probably the smartest praline in the room (or rather – on the underground). Worth a laugh and a try? A warning against wifi on the tube?

M&M’s — “Just My Shell”, 2012

Guests think Ms. Brown is naked. Red decides it is that kind of party, strips off his shell and starts dancing. Nobody asked him to.

Novi — “Svizzero? No, Novi! / Swiss? No, Novi!”, 1992

Up in the Alps, good chocolate is assumed to be Swiss. “No, Novi!” Italy got there first and would beg to differ (in Italian but with subtitles)

Chocolates Valor — “The Pleasure of Being an Adult”, 2024

Youth has gone. Thank goodness. Now you can lose the insecurities, say no more often and choose your own chocolate. Don’t expect too much?

Nestlé Carlos V — “The King Is Bewitched”, uploaded 2012

Everything the chocolate king touches turns to gold. Excellent for the treasury; awkward for everyone else. Children must find the antidote in Carlos V packs – mission impossible with Spanish humour?

Nidar Stratos — “Football Baby / The Kid”, 2001

A lonely young footballer decides he needs a teammate—and engineers a baby brother. Recruitment takes nine months, but its worth the wait (for the stratos).

Freia/Marabou Japp — “Rasta”, 1990s

Chocolate as an energy boost, with the exaggeration turned right up. Less “a little pick-me-up”, more “don’t stretch on your porsche”.

Cadbury 5 Star — “Bank Robbery”, 2015

Ramesh and Suresh get caught up in a bank robbery while being rather more caught up in their chocolate. Unlikely heroes; definitely not 5 start attention spans?

Cadbury – “The Great Crunchie Train Robbery”, 1975

Cowboys and bandits stage the great train robbery but it’s for a chest of Crunchies. Funnier than it sounds – especially given the date!

Chocolate creatures march to their own tune

A procession of performers with chocolate-shaped bodies and bird legs marches around an animated cityscape to a repetitive chant. The archive upload dates from 2012, although the original broadcast date has not been established

An elephant remembers the last Rolo

A boy appears to offer an elephant a Rolo, then eats it himself. Years later, the elephant recognises him and takes revenge. The advert was made by Ammirati Puris Lintas Amsterdam for the Netherlands.

Two climbers meet in the Alps. A question about Swiss identity becomes a question about the chocolate, prompting the repeated correction: “No, Novi!” The company’s own account dates the campaign to 1992 and explains its ambition: to challenge the assumption that excellent chocolate must be Swiss

The chocolate bars become the performers

Chocolate-covered wafer bars become characters through miniature accessories and props. The campaign, created by El Laboratorio, runs under “Con Huesitos todo es más divertido” — “With Huesitos everything is more fun”.

One ingredient becomes a verbal obsession

The Portuguese-market advert introduces Pedro, who learned the word “caramelo” as a child and could never stop saying it. The campaign upload links to Twix’s Portuguese website and identifies the product’s three components: caramel, biscuit and chocolate.

The child hypnotises the parent

A child swings a Baton chocolate like a hypnotist’s pendulum and repeatedly instructs the viewer to buy it: “Compre Baton … seu filho merece Baton” — “Buy Baton … your child deserves Baton.” The advertising-history programme hosting this clip identifies it as a 1992 campaign by W/Brasil for Garoto.

Mr Bean

Mr Bean attempts a rooftop mission alongside martial artists and proves catastrophically unsuited to it. A Snickers restores him to a competent fighter. Created for the UK market by AMV BBDO London, the advert uses Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles.

Betty White gives as good as she gets

An underperforming American-football player appears as Betty White. His teammates complain, but she is hardly a meek target for their criticism. Eating a Snickers returns him to the player they know.