Until further notice, the M&M’S confectionery has given up using in its advertisements the famous characters reminiscent of the shape of its chocolate bonbons, criticized by the American conservative right, which considers them politicized.
The matter began with the launch, in September, of a new member of the family of “spokescandies” (caramel spokesmen), named 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”.
Purple notably symbolizes support for the LGBTQ community and the expression of homosexuality.
Purple’s arrival sparked criticism, with netizens blaming M&M’s parent company Mars Wrigley for politicizing chocolate candies.
m&m woke up
According to them, the characters in M&M’S had become “awakened”, a word that designates activism against all forms of discrimination and exclusion directed at one or more minorities.
The controversy rebounded at the beginning of January with the marketing of a special limited edition pack that contained only the three colors of the female characters, green, brown and purple.
The “M&M’s woke up 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 lesbian” and that Purple was “obese”, referring to her oval rather than round shape, similar to an M&M containing a peanut.
Sneakers instead of boots.
In January 2022, Tucker Carlson had already taken up the issue to accuse M&M’S of having replaced Green’s white boots with sneakers, making 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 “disrupt the internet.”
The animated creatures will be replaced, in the new advertising campaigns, by the actress and comedian Maya Rudolph.
Source: BFM TV
