M&M’s Ditches Spokescandies After Backlash, Here’s Why It Matters (2024)

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M&M’s Ditches Spokescandies After Backlash, Here’s Why It Matters? ›

Seeming to give up on the messaging, M&M's tweeted this morning that they didn't want to be polarizing and would replace the spokescandies with a human spokesperson, Maya Rudolph. There was no mention of the irony that their candies' advocacy for inclusivity became too polarizing.

In January, M&M's made the surprise announcement it would halt the use of its candy characters after loud backlash from influential right-wing voices over the redesign. Tucker Carlson of Fox News led the charge to demand, among other things, that the green M&M have her sexy boots back.

Fox News derisively deemed the brand “woke” after the brand altered the characters' shoes. Tucker Carlson complained about the candy characters' new and, from his perspective, less “sexy” look. “M&M's will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing,” Carlson said.

This came after a surreal exchange with Fox News's Tucker Carlson. Carlson was apparently outraged by the fact that not only had the brown M&M stopped wearing stilettos, but the green M&M had also started wearing sneakers (and so obviously is now a "lesbian, maybe?").

A controversy erupted when M&M's made changes to its roster of characters and to the shoes they wear.

Her debut included a song entitled “I'm Just Gonna Be Me.” (Although the purple confection was added to the spokescandy lineup, no purple candies were added inside M&M packages.) Conservatives immediately suggested that the new purple candy must be transgender, and the candies were labeled “woke.”

In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M's because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M's. This was done despite the fact that M&M's did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers.

The company recently announced it was dropping its 'spokescandies' because the desexualisation of the green M&M had upset people so much. M&M's told the world it had replaced the candies with comic Maya Rudolph. And now it has gone a step further, by changing its name completely. Goodbye M&M's, hello Ma&Ya's.

On Thursday, Mars said the company would be redesigning the M&M'S characters as part of the brand's commitment “to creating a world where everyone feels they belong.” For example, the green M&M traded her go-go boots for a pair of sneakers, and the brown M&M changed her motto to “Not bossy.

Misogyny and sexism are still very prominent, even in something as insignificant as M&M's characters. The appeal of the green and brown M&M's was to be sexy and not have a personality like the guys. When MARS decided to redesign them, it caused controversy.

What is the issue with the green M&M? ›

Summary. The Green and Brown M&M's mascots caused controversy due to a minor change in their appearance, with conservatives criticizing the shift as being too "woke" and feminists arguing it was a poor attempt at inclusivity.

On Jan. 24, Mars, Incorporated — the company that owns the M&M's brand — told the world that their iconic mascots would be replaced by comedian Maya Rudolph. The company said it was due to criticism of the brand getting “too political,” thanks to their controversial makeovers of the mascots last year.

About a year ago, Mars Wrigley rebranded some of its M&M characters to be more inclusive, including a redesign of the green M&M that replaced her high-heeled boots with sneakers.

M&M's says it is abandoning its colorful candy mascots because they are too “polarizing” for Americans to handle these days. The ubiquitous chocolate characters—which have been the face of M&M's for years—didn't say anything controversial.

Since Hershey's was supplying chocolate to soldiers, it needed a way to keep it from melting in tropical climates during the war. The solution: M&M's patented candy coating. The candy became a hit with soldiers for their convenience and mobility.

The FDA concluded that the food colorant could not be presumed to be safe for human consumption and banned it in 1976. Red M&M's disappeared shortly after the FDA issued its ruling , suggesting they were one of the Red No. 2 culprits.

The ubiquitous chocolate characters—which have been the face of M&M's for years—didn't say anything controversial. But they became the focus of a partisan backlash after the brand, owned by Mars Inc., made a number of stylistic tweaks to its cast of “spokescandies” last year to be more inclusive.

Maya Rudolph made her debut as M&M's new spokesperson during a Super Bowl ad for "Ma&Ya's Candy Coated Clam Bites" but was promptly replaced with the original candy mascots in a postgame "press conference."

Recent changes to the M&M's characters, that have defined the brand's image for decades, sparked controversy among political partisans. In an event to avoid further critique, M&M's announced that comedian Maya Rudolph would replace the characters in their 2023 Super Bowl ad.