The confectioner M&M’S has given up using in its advertisements, until further notice, the famous characters reminiscent of the shape of its chocolate candies, criticized by part of the American conservative right, which considers them politicized. The affair began with the launch, in September, of a new member of the family of “spokescandies” (candy spokespersons), baptized Purple (violet). This was the third female character in the strip, after Green (green) and Brown (brown), created, according to M&M’S, “to represent acceptance and inclusion”.
A message from M&M’S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M’S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
Purple notably symbolizes support for the LGBTQ community and the expression of homosexuality. Purple’s arrival sparked criticism, with netizens blaming Mars Wrigley, parent company of M&M’s, for politicizing chocolate candies. According to them, the M&M’S characters had become “woke”, a word which designates activism against all forms of discrimination and exclusion targeting one or more minorities. The controversy rebounded in early January with the marketing of a special limited-edition pack that contained only the three colors of the female characters, green, brown and purple.
“Obese” and “lesbian” M&Ms
The “M&M’s ‘woke’ are back”, protested, shortly after the announcement, Tucker Carlson, one of the star presenters of the Fox News channel, known for the very conservative positions of several of its stars . He mockingly mentioned that Green was “possibly a lesbian” and that Purple was “obese”, referring to its oval rather than round shape, akin to that of M&M’s containing a peanut. In January 2022, Tucker Carlson had already taken up the subject to accuse M&M’S of having replaced Green’s white boots with sneakers, which made her “less sexy”.
Referring to these changes, M&M’s explained, in a message posted Monday on Twitter, that it did not expect them to “upset the internet”. “But now we figured out,” the confectioner added, “even a candy’s shoes can spark polarization.” But “that was the last thing we wanted, because our goal is to bring people together,” M&M’s said. “As such, we have decided to put the characters on hiatus indefinitely,” the company announced.
The animated creatures will be replaced, in the new advertising campaigns, by the actress and humorist Maya Rudolph.