That Classic M&M's Commercial Gave Santa a Concussion
If you don't immediately know what we're talking about when we say “classic M&M’s Santa commercial,” you're too young and you pay too much for streaming services, but to recap: the Red and Yellow M&M's are leaving a bowl of festive-colored brethren out for the big guy when they're interrupted by Santa's appearance. In shock, Red shrieks, “He does exist!” while a dazed Santa breathes, “They do exist,” before collapsing behind a couch. That's it; that's the ad. It won awards. 1996 was a simpler time.
Filming the commercial, however, was a lot less simple. Santa was played by Robert Machray, a veteran sitcom character actor best known as Fire Marshall Dobbins on Cheers, and he threw his everything into the role -- and we do mean his everything. “The first take we did, he fell and he pretty much got his bell rung,” animation director David Daniels said on 2013. “That was a concussion, the poor guy.” A silence fell over the set as the crew grappled with the possibility that they accidentally killed Santa Claus.
Fortunately, Machray soon got up, but “it was a good 10 minutes, half hour as they were trying to shake him, shake the cobwebs out,” Daniels said. Then everyone took a break while Santa's suit was redesigned on the fly to give him more padding in the back and Daniels hopefully received extensive medical attention before returning to work. It's very unclear, because according to Daniels, “We got it on the next takes. He was a trooper and came around.” A PSA to all those in the audience too young to remember the fainting Santa: Never go right back to work if you get a concussion in an effort to be a “trooper.” Machray passed away in 2025, and while we can't confirm his death was related to a 30-year-old head injury, it's better to be safe.
