Candy diversity? Seriously? M&M’s already had great social message (Opinion)
Do you really need your candy to teach you a lesson? M&M's thinks so and they are adopting a new look to be more inclusive. Their cartoon characters will adopt personalities the Hackettstown Jersey-based brand says will be "more inclusive, welcoming and unifying."
For example: The green M&M, once sexy with sultry looks and go-go boots, will now wear sneakers and become known as "hypewoman" complete with phrases like “I think we all win when we see more women in leading roles,”
Mars, the company that makes M&M's, will also be changing some of the shapes and sizes. This I guess will make people see themselves in the M, or is that M&M?
Will this be good for business? According to mentalfloss, "M&Ms are the best-selling candy in America, boasting annual sales of $673.2 million". Why mess with that? Is this transformation really necessary?
“As one of the world’s most iconic candy brands, who better to commit to a world with more moments of fun by increasing a sense of belonging around the globe than M&M’S?” Cathryn Sleight, chief growth officer at Mars Wrigley, said in a statement. Huh?? What???
I think M&M's already had a great message. You have all these "M's" of different colors all peacefully co-existing in the same packet, bowl, or even hand — a hand that they don't melt in, by the way.
The characters are all friends, they have fun and help each other. Why not push the message of people of different colors and ethnicities getting along? Now that's something to celebrate.
If they wanted to send a social message, I think M&M's already had the perfect ad campaign right in front of them. "Can't we all get along like the M&M's in a bowl?
I don't know about you, but I'm not taking life lessons from candy. As far as I'm concerned M&M's can do what they want with their characters, as long as they don't mess with the actual candy.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a handful. Look at how they're all getting along.
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.
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