Megan Udinski, FISM News
The beloved rainbow-colored candy-coated snack, M&Ms, are getting a ‘woke’ makeover. Mars, Inc., the company that owns M&Ms as well as Snickers and Twix, is making changes to its iconic characters in an effort to be more inclusive.
Matt Walsh, a conservative show host from The Daily Wire, shared a post from the M&M’s vice president on the 80-year-old company’s rebrand.
The VP of M&Ms explains that they’re making the M&Ms characters more inclusive in order to “start a movement.” The girl M&Ms will be focused on “empowerment” while the orange M&M will “embrace his true self.”
This is not a parody pic.twitter.com/Fo7km8XTSD
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2022
VP Hwang explains how the ‘lentils,’ the M&M characters that have become the mascot for the candy, will get new, improved personalities in addition to makeovers to appeal to a more diverse audience. Their desire is to emphasize the power of fun and how it can overcome differences to make people have a sense of belonging.
Some of the most prominent changes affect the female characters, green and brown. Together, the lentils will be upgraded to exemplify female empowerment. For example, the green character will have her iconic knee-high boots replaced by sneakers.
In a sort of contradictory manner, the company also explains that it will move away from prefixes before the characters’ names to focus people’s attention on the expansive personalities rather than gender.
Additionally, the orange lentil is going to take a leading role as an M&M with anxiety who comes into his own and embraces his true self. The company believes that he will resonate most with Gen Z-ers.
Along with the characters getting revamped, Mars, Inc. is introducing a new tag line, “one for all & all for fun,” to reinforce their belief that fun overcomes differences. Even the ampersand separating the two M’s will get an upgrade to emphasize as a brand that “we are better together.”
The candy will have a larger color palette, diversify the shapes and sizes of the characters, and hopes to start a trend in creating more inclusive branding.
The response so far to the changes the company is making has been mostly negative. Some have questioned how an M&M can have anxiety, while others point out that most likely no one felt excluded by the candy and it is hard to fathom how candy can give one a sense of belonging.
When you find out your M&M’s are finally inclusive: pic.twitter.com/195eD3jAC9
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 20, 2022
It makes sense that Mars, Inc. would feel the need to adjust their classic candies to fit in with the ‘woke’ agenda, because in 2021 they spoke out against legislation that would prevent the mutilation of boys and girls in an effort to transition them to the opposite sex.
A memo released by the company about the rebranding explains that the changes to the characters represent the greater movement taking place within the company, stating, “These [changes] include a commitment to gender-balanced leadership teams, running an independent annual diversity audit of its advertising (run by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media) and its role as Vice Chair of the Unstereotype Alliance, part of UN Women, amongst others.”