What candy was used to lure E.T. in the 1982 movie "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"?

The candy used to lure E.T. in the 1982 film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was Reese’s Pieces. In the movie, Elliott leaves a trail of the small peanut-butter candies to coax the stranded alien out of hiding and eventually befriend him.

Reese’s Pieces had been introduced in the United States in 1978, only a few years before the film was released. The candy consists of a peanut-butter center covered in a crisp colored shell, usually orange, yellow, or brown. Unlike Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Reese’s Pieces do not have a chocolate coating.

A common mix-up is the belief that M&M’s appeared in the film. Mars reportedly declined the opportunity to feature M&M’s, allowing The Hershey Company to supply Reese’s Pieces instead. The prominent placement helped turn the relatively new candy into a much more recognizable product, and its association with E.T. remains one of the best-known examples of successful movie product placement.