I saw a bus shelter ad outside of my old apartment with a chocolate strongman. At first I thought that Steve Reeves, while on a tour of Willy Wonka’s factory, had succumb to temptation and fallen in to the chocolate river. No, that would make to much sense.

What I was seeing was Leo Burnett’s latest (and last) campaign for Altoids. In the ad, we see the allegedly iconic “Altoids Muscle Man” (I had to google it to find any references) with a fresh coat of glossy chocolate goodness. The line below it reads “The curiously chocolate altoids”. This is what really set me off.

The line is an obvious refresh of “The curiously strong mint”. However, whereas the old line begged the question “why are these mints so strong?” the new line simply begs “Why are these altoids dipped in chocolate?”

I was just wondering the same thing myself.

About The Author - My name is Stirling McLaughlin. I am married. I am an Art Director, Designer and Illustrator. I work at Atmosphere BBDO. I have lots of ideas. I have a baby girl named Nika Bean. I live in New York City. When I was in college, they put me on TV because I wore a mask and yelled at people. I have a reality show that I wil be starting… any day now. - See My Portfolio