Mars, Inc. will air Super Bowl Commercials this year for two of its brands: Skittles and Snickers. Although the Super Bowl is an event in which ads draw more attention than usual, the candy company is taking a new approach to combat viewers’ growing resistance to advertising. In addition to the Snickers and Skittles ads, Mars is implementing two different digital strategies to capture the attention of audiences before the game even begins. The question is: which brand’s strategy will be more effective?

During the game, Snickers will air a live western-themed commercial starring Star Wars and “Girls” actor Adam Driver. The company has released a few teasers, but it is mainly promoting its ad through a 36-hour live stream featuring other stars such as Betty White and Tyler Oakley. Skittles, however, is taking a less suspenseful approach and has already released its commercial online. The romance-themed commercial features no celebrity spokesperson, however Skittles is already gaining attention by promoting its ad with an online video featuring NFL star Marshawn Lynch.

So far, Skittles has been more effective at attracting viewers and stimulating conversation before the big game. The conversation spiked on January 30 when Skittles released its Marshawn Lynch promos, which have dominated the conversation since. Positive sentiment for Skittles has been overwhelmingly high (71%) compared to Snickers (6%), which has stayed primarily neutral. Lynch’s appearance was well-received, resulting in #BeastMode being a top hashtag. Also, the Skittles ad reached a younger audience than the Snickers ad has thus far. While Skittles’ digital strategy has gained more attention than Snickers’ live stream, only time will tell whether Snickers’ new live ad will put the brand in the spotlight after the game.

Stay tuned to find out!