Operation RMI 51-59 is part of an ad campaign that includes candy tins filled with M&Ms. This past week we prepared the first half of these tins for a mass mailing to a select group of potential clients. If you’re one of those lucky enough to receive an aforementioned candy tin, I must apologize for the lack of blue M&Ms.
The mystery of the missing blue M&Ms began on Monday March 16, 2011. With an office full of M&Ms (330 lbs to be exact) and empty tins, it seemed as though we were prepared to begin filling them. I arrived to work at 8:30 a.m. sharp, with the expectation I’d be putting this all together, since I’m the most qualified (a food handler certified by the state of Missouri). It seemed like all was as it should be while I attended the weekly production meeting, held every Monday. Afterwards upon my workstation I found that all the bags had been opened. This to me was a simple open and shut case, the M&M gnomes came in and had a go at the bags. The M&M gnomes have a business plan that works as such:
- Phase 1: Collect M&Ms
- Phase 2: ???
- Phase 3: Profit
However, upon further investigation I discovered the culprits couldn’t be the gnomes – only the blue ones were missing.The gnomes take all the M&Ms they can get their hands on; therefore, it was very peculiar that only the blue ones were missing. This called for a full on investigation where my suspects now were those closest to the M&Ms, those that work here. Lucky for me, I had watched enough Scooby-Doo growing up that I knew how to narrow down suspects and look for clues. The first clue as to who the culprit might have been came from what I had noticed about candy in the office. I knew it couldn’t be Shannan because not one week after Valentines Day, she brought in a bunch of candy for everyone to share. Anyone bringing in candy for others to enjoy wouldn’t have a craving for M&Ms to the point they would get into the bags in the office. I also knew it couldn’t be Mike because he was out all that week in St. Louis and wouldn’t have known about the candy sitting directly beneath his nose. Therefore, my suspects were Brooke, Kevin, and Ellen. My next clue was from the mailing labels we were going to put on the tins; they had traces of blue fingerprints on them, which knocked Kevin out of the mix because Kevin wouldn’t have touched the labels since he wasn’t involved with them. This left Brooke and Ellen. My final clue came from the thought of who would have access to the office on the weekend, someone with a key. The only people with keys are Mike and Ellen; therefore, it had to have been Ellen. Upon this revelation, I went into Ellen’s office to find her nibbling on the evidence she hadn’t had a chance to dispose of yet.
It was at that moment, I knew I’d found the culprit. I not only solved the mystery, I had caught the thief blue-handed.
Brooke Omar - Creative: Brooke used to work at one of those mega-agencies on the left coast. Coincidentally, she creates wonderful TV and print campaigns. She brings a keen eye to the creative process – and a fresh perspective to our work. 
Kent Becker: VANGEL intern Kent Becker is currently working toward his degree in Business - Marketing from the University of Missouri - Columbia. His areas of interest are Research & Development and Project Management. 
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