Mars Wrigley, the parent company of the candy world, attempted to make one of its best-known brands, M&M's, fit the woke standard. The brand seems to have crashed and is now picking up the pieces.
In January 2022, Mars announced that its animated candy spokespeople would take on "more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression and power of community through storytelling."
New footwear
It was not clear what these mysterious words meant until shortly after. M&M's changed the footwear of some of its candy mascots. Tucker Carlson was not happy:
Tucker: M&M's will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and androgynous. Until then you wouldn't want to have a drink with any of them. That's the goal. When you've turned off, we've achieved equity... pic.twitter.com/rz7VtVCHWu
- Acyn (@Acyn) January 22, 2022
What's more, according to the Fox News reporter, even the sweet spokeswomen's peers don't seem happy with the change:
Tucker: If you look at him, the orange M&M does appear very anxious. Maybe he doesn't like all the ugly new shoes he sees around him. Maybe he liked the sexy boots. pic.twitter.com/ePlcMXZJKW
- Acyn (@Acyn) January 22, 2022
The company, led by Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley in North America, considered the change a way to make the M&M's characters, especially the females, more "representative of our consumer."
Feminist candy
The changes did not stop there. On Jan. 5, 2023, the company turned three of its sweet spokespersons: Green, Brown, and Purple, into symbols for feminism. He placed them upside down to show that they support "women flipping the status quo."
This month, M&M'S®, proudly part of Mars, will release its first-ever packs spotlighting dynamic female M&M'S characters. The all-female packs celebrate women everywhere who are flipping the status quo. The limited-edition product will feature Purple, Brown, and Green on inspirational packaging, plus be the first united representation of the female trio spokescandies.
We're celebrating women across the country who are flipping the status quo! Help us shine the spotlight by nominating a woman in your life who is breaking barriers and paving a new path. Head to https://t.co/fgwVEG4joI to learn more! pic.twitter.com/YRxOXvPhXb
- M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 5, 2023
Chief Marketing Officer Gabrielle Wesley explained:
The M&M'S brand is on a mission to use the power of fun to create purposeful connections, as we work to create a world where everyone feels they belong.
However, not everyone was happy with this use of "the power of fun." John Paul Brammer of The Washington Post considered that:
It is clear that these hard-shell ladies who melt in your mouth, not in your hand, are the latest victims of misguided progressivism running through corporate America, inspiring changes as hollow as a peanut M&M missing its leguminous center.
Again Tucker Carlson and Martha MacCallum, both on Fox News, have questioned the changes from candy brand. Finally, M&Ms has decided to dispense of its chocolate spokespeople.
Carlson, in particular, questioned the morality of a candy company promoting obesity in the form of having overweight "spokescandies":
Our response to the end of the obese and lesbian M&M spokescandies pic.twitter.com/HuSfAryyQi
- Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 24, 2023
In a message on Twitter, the company says:
America, let's talk. In the last year, we've made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren't sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn't think it would break the internet. But now we get it - even a candy's shoes can polarizing. Which was the last thing M&M'S wanted since we're all about bringing people together.
A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
- M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
In the end, the once-beloved candy characters will be gone "indefinitely." The animated spokespeople will now be replaced by a real person:
Therefore, we have decided to take an indefinite pause from the spokescandies. In their place, we are proud to introduce a spokesperson America can agree on: the beloved Maya Rudolph. We are confident Ms. Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong.
