When ‘woke’ goes too far: NJ-based Mars will revamp M&Ms (Opinion)

Hackettstown’s M&M Mars has been around for over 100 years, producing some of the world’s favorite candies like 3 Musketeers, Milky Way and Snickers.

In 1941, they began producing the iconic multi-colored chocolate drops covered in a candy shell, M&Ms. As the popularity of M&Ms grew, people ascribed certain significance to the different colors in the pack.

It was a fun, whimsical thing to do. For instance, it’s been reported that stars would request only red ones in their dressing rooms or to have all of the brown ones removed before they were served to them. Special colors were eventually produced to be personalized for wedding favors and the like.

Next, the colors were assigned human attributes and turned into characters or what the company called “spokescandies,” with different personalities assigned to them.

According to an article by The Hill, it was recently announced the characters have been given a progressive makeover.

For example, one character, the brown M&M, apparently a vehement feminist, now describes her motto as, "Not bossy. Just the boss."

And, since a fun, long-standing urban legend held that green M&Ms had aphrodisiac properties, Mars had the character counterpart playing along, appearing in ads posing seductively and wearing white go-go boots.

But that’s so not 2022.

Now they’ve changed Ms. Green M&M to some kind of women’s rights activist, swapping the boots for sneaks and according to the website “being a hypewoman for my friends."

Mars is said to be evolving these characters “with a goal of increasing the sense of belonging for 10 million [sic] people around the world by 2025," adding this is “just one of many actions being taken across Mars, Incorporated to create a world where society is inclusive."

Belonging?

Inclusive?

It’s candy, people.

Some people might think this is a great idea and others are furious that they’re messing with the beloved brand.

I think it’s too much thought to put into candy. Aren’t we asking a little too much from a tiny little piece of chocolate wrapped in candy? Are we asking candies to change society for the good and to be social justice warriors?

I long for the days when the only thing we would ask of an M&M is that it would melt in our mouth and not in our hand.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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