This one is an advert, and it barely pretends otherwise
A chocolate commercial with game characters and an explosion in it.
Our review classifies this as advertising rather than entertainment, and once you know that, everything about it falls into place: an explosion, characters from Mario floating around, and a chocolate brand at the centre of the lot. It is well made and children will enjoy it, which is precisely why it needs naming out loud. Sixty-nine seconds, high intensity with sudden sound and bright colour throughout, and the pester risk sits at the top of the scale. Watch it with your eyes open, or skip it on principle.
At a glance
Will it actually calm them down?
Eases a wound-up mood back to settled.
A gentle lift on a flat, low-energy afternoon.
Steady enough for meltdown recovery.Scores measure how reliably this video moves a child toward a settled, regulated state. In the Piko app, kids tell us their weather and we do the matching automatically.
Which kids will love it?
Why it works
Advertising aimed at children works because it borrows characters they already love and puts them somewhere exciting. That is exactly what happens here, and it is done competently. There is a small story, a clear spectacle and recognisable faces. None of which is a criticism of the craft (it is a description of the mechanism). A ten-year-old can enjoy it and still be told, plainly, what it is for.
When to reach for it
- Media literacy in practice One of the clearest examples in this collection of an advert built specifically for children.
- Mario fans only Really only lands for a child who already knows the game characters being borrowed.
- Well away from the shops Pester risk is at the top of the scale, so timing this before a supermarket run invites trouble.
Sensory & SEN notes
If they love this, try these
Questions parents ask
How obvious is it that this is an advert?
To an adult, very. To a child, considerably less so, which is the whole difficulty. It is classified as advertising rather than entertainment in our review.
Are the game characters officially involved?
Characters from the Mario games appear alongside the chocolate brand. Whatever the arrangement behind it, a child will read that as a straightforward endorsement.
Is it too intense to run for over a minute?
Sudden sound, bright colour and quick cutting run throughout, which is a lot sustained across that length. Older children cope. Sensory-sensitive ones will not.
40+ checks per video, with a final pass from the review desk · Scored 27 July 2026 · We do not host videos; playback is via YouTube's official embed.