Every day in my public relations (PR) strategy class, we open with a discussion about current events. For some reason, we cannot seem to escape the M&M’s brand. Each time I open Twitter, the popular candy brand appears to have descended further into madness and I can’t stop sharing all the updates with my friends.
Here’s what you need to know:
It all started when the green M&M was accused of being “too sexy” for her own good. Sometime last year, Mars (the company that makes M&M’s) rebranded some of their famous M&M characters— referred to as their “spokescandies” — in an attempt to be more inclusive. The biggest controversy that came out of this involved the green M&M, as they replaced her stylish, high-heeled boots with more conservative sneakers. This sparked a heated debate on social media, with consumers being unafraid to take sides and voice their opinions.
In addition to these seemingly minor changes made to their original “spokescandies,” they decided that September 2022 was a good time to introduce the first brand new character in over a decade: the purple M&M. This character was meant to be the peacekeeper, but it only sparked more controversy, as fans accused the brand of trying to steal the spotlight from their favorite characters. Since she was introduced as a peanut M&M, people also thought that the brand was making a statement about being inclusive of plus-sized individuals.
Far-right conservative and Fox News host Tucker Carlson did not take these changes lightly. You might have heard his recent comments on a TikTok audio that has circulating for the past couple of weeks. “Woke M&Ms have returned,” Carlson says during a Tucker Carlson Tonight segment in January 2022. “The green M&M got her boots back, but apparently is now a lesbian maybe? And there is also a plus-sized, obese purple M&M.”
The M&Ms drama took yet another turn when the brand made the surprising decision to fire their popular “spokescandies” and replace them with actress Maya Rudolph. “Now we get it,” M&M’s said in a statement released on Jan. 23, “even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing. Which was the last thing M&Ms wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.”
Rudolph, best known for her comedic roles in films and on television, was brought on as the new face of M&Ms— and it just continues to get weirder. Very quickly after the statement was released, M&Ms conducted a full rebrand of all their social media sites. Their Twitter and Instagram names now read “Ma&Ya’s” to reflect Rudolf’s new position as the brand’s spokesperson. They also released a series of commercials, confirming that a photograph of Rudolph’s face will now replace the famous logo.
Just when you thought it was over, on Feb. 2 M&Ms released a new commercial with Maya Rudolph claiming that the candies will now be filled with clams instead of chocolate. “First, I put my face on them,” Rudolph says, “then, I changed the name. Then I thought, what does the world really want? Clams. That’s why Ma&Ya’s will now be filled with chewy, chunky clams.”
What started off as a simple hypothesis in our class was recently confirmed by Mars Wrigley to the New York Times: the M&M’s “spokescandies” will in fact be returning during their Super Bowl commercial this year on Feb. 12. Apparently, we will be getting an inside look into how the “spokescandies” have been spending their downtime while on hiatus.
Although the entirety of this campaign has, in my opinion, clearly been a PR stunt to keep the brand circulating in the media, I can’t help but crave a pack of M&Ms after talking about them every week.
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