When M&M's challenged their agency, BBDO, to create an online comic book to promote the M&M minis, BBDO turned around and went looking for the best interactive design companies in the world to bring their client's vision to virtual life. Having caught the attention of the online design world with their innovative work, 15 letters was asked to submit a proposal.

Intrigued by the idea of not only creating something new, unique, and revolutionary, but the possibility of an insane amount of M&M's in the office, 15 letters beat out seven other firms to land the account.

The task in front of 15 letters was to translate and transform the two-dimensional M&M's minis comic book created by BBDO New York and Marvel Comics into a vivid, vibrant, and immersive environment and viewing experience that is all about discovery and surprise.

After the sleeves had been rolled up, sleep deprivation seminars attended, and creative juices sufficiently, um, juiced, the unlimited potential of the Internet was unleashed and the following bits of genius were created:

	Three different interactive homepages, full of surprises that reward discovery and exploration. Each homepage is designed to resemble the rubble that is Master M's lair, and contains musical cues, user-activated special effects, and games - all of which visually tie back into the comic's introduction.
	Eight online comic stories, packed to the gills with rich sound files and spectacular animation. The comics consist of an introduction to the Minis and their new mutated nemesis, Master M, six individual comics featuring the various shades of Minis, and a concluding comic, opening up the possibility and promise of future adventures.
	Two brand new interactive applications: The Swarm-O-Matic and the Pict-O-Master.
	The Swarm-O-Matic is a drawing application that allows the user to sketch out a design on the screen. Once completed, the drawing is recreated and brought to life by a swarm of Minis, just as they do in the comic. Furthermore, drawings can be saved and displayed in an online gallery. The Swarm-O-Matic utilizes a "tell a friend" feature that enhances the viral nature of the site by allowing users to send pictures to their friends to view, and try creating a picture themselves.
	The Pict-O-Master is an interactive desktop creator, which encourages the user to create a unique scene, utilizing elements and images from the comic. In addition, user codes obtained from the minis candy packages can be entered in to unlock hidden files.

While there are currently other online comics available on the Internet, the site 15 letters has created separates from the pack due its immersive environment and seamless transitions. The Minis site flows along with the viewer's eyes; taking a normal comic book experience to the next level by incorporating interactivity, sound effects, and animation.

The winning approach was not to try and fit the comic into an online environment, but to create an online space that would accentuate and improve upon the source material.

We hope you enjoy reading about and exploring the world of the M&M's minis as much as we enjoyed creating it.