Natasha Lyonne turns her Poker Face to Super Bowl commercials and M&Ms

You didn’t need to be a human lie detector to guess that the M&M culture war controversy wherein the company yanked its “spokescandies” from their jobs was Super Bowl bait. However, this ad (made in partnership with M&M, mind you) confirms as much when Charlie helps her drinking buddy realize that “the M&M characters never left.” It does seem a bit strange to expose the hoax while the hoax is still ongoing, but then, nobody really thought the whole Maya Rudolph brand pivot was going to stick.

The company may have fooled a few people by releasing that open letter in the wake of Fox News’ faux outrage, but now that the campaign has taken an April Fools-esque turn by changing the candy’s name to “Ma&Yas” and filling the treats with “chewy, chunky clams.” Believability is obviously no longer the name of the game for this prank, but at least we get more Maya Rudolph out of it.

It’s a nice bit of synergy for Animal Pictures, the production company headed by Rudolph and Lyonne. Rudolph is a producer on Poker Face, and the duo has also produced their own shows like Russian Doll and Loot, as well as projects like the animated comedy The Hospital and the teen romantic comedy Crush. Now their Hollywood hot streak extends to complementary commercials during The Big Game.

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