For decades, animated M&M candy mascots have dominated commercials on the small screen. Whether they’re swooning at the sight of Santa Claus, wailing to each other during board meetings, or trying to defuse a rocket, the multi-colored characters are used to telling their stories to the general public. Which may be why so many people were uproaring right after the company announced the iconic spokesperson would be replaced by comedy queen Maya Rudolph for an upcoming Super Bowl ad, saying it was all an effort to get around the controversies of the past.
News of Maya Rudolph’s association with the M&M’s brand came via a company statement shared on Instagram. The post explaining the surprising change alluded to consumer reactions to various character changes in recent years, such as the redesign of Green M&Ms to tone down perceived sexual details, as well as the introduction of Purple M&Ms. According to the press release, the company is putting the pets on “indefinite hiatus” and opting to move forward with Rudolph instead. It all seems too ironic to be true, and yet…
Appearing in TodayRudolph teased that there will be “a lot of fun” regarding the upcoming Super Bowl commercial and shared how he felt serving as the brand’s “Head of Fun” spokesperson, saying:
They are a very funny couple if I say so myself. I think little Maya would like to start working with M&M’s.
M&M is known for its creative advertising and for using well-known celebrities like Danny DeVito for Super Bowl commercials. Unsurprisingly, they’re recruiting multi-hyphenated talent like Maya Rudolph, but it’s certainly still insane to hear that pets won’t be involved in any way. While this may all be an intentional plan to generate more interest ahead of the announcement, some netizens aren’t too happy to hear this news and want answers:
who is responsible thereJanuary 23, 2023
There’s certainly a lot of confusion surrounding this news, even beyond the decision to keep pets. There’s no denying that Maya Rudolph is a beloved comedy icon with dozens of memorable moments Saturday night live and many other great TV and movie shows. Yet it’s also undeniable that other celebrities may have been more obvious M&M spokespersons, if any of them could stand their ground.
Eminem sees Maya Rudolph as new M&M spokesperson pic.twitter.com/ts7plEh92QJanuary 23, 2023
Maybe Eminem’s price has gone up after last year’s elaborate Super Bowl halftime performance. Either way, Maya Rudolph is the new face of M&M going forward, and the only group we haven’t heard of would be M&M’s replacement mascots. Chocolate Filled Cartons hasn’t made any formal statements at this point, but there are those on the internet who think they know how they feel:
m&m green after Maya Rudolph stole her job pic.twitter.com/rn6wX2DnBZJanuary 23, 2023
The online discourse about this situation, which features many conflicting opinions, has naturally led some to wonder why so many others are angry. cyanide and happiness designer Rob Den Bleyker He’s one of those who struggled to understand what he saw and needed help from followers to figure it out:
Can anyone sum up the m&m drama for me? I’ve been too busy living my life and having a normal brain.
I don’t blame anyone who’s confused, because there’s a deep mix of serious and silly reactions to the new M&Ms, which makes browsing a bit disorienting. So take all of that and add in people who are just creating surreal memes to allow for even more chaos, and this situation has really gotten out of hand:
How can the m&ms take that away from us? pic.twitter.com/WGlyiDkBUJJanuary 23, 2023
The world could really use a mustachioed M&M with the written wisdom of a talk show host like Dr. Phil right now, but I wouldn’t count on seeing something like that at the Super Bowl. This whole situation has turned into a real online mess, so I can only imagine how cutters armed with only a Netflix subscription and years of ad-free advertising are navigating right now.
Personally, I think the M&M characters will make an appearance, and this is just another catchy pre-Super Bowl publicity stunt, similar to Ben Affleck selling Dunkin Donuts coffee. I guess we’ll see when the big game plays out and if people react even more unexpectedly if pets are actually rejected.
Those who live for the Super Bowl commercials but don’t really follow the sport can enjoy some of the highest quality (read: expensive) commercials of the year on Fox on Sunday, Feb. 12. I’m excited to see M&M’s next announcement, and I hope it at least lives up to some of the best big game announcements from last year.
Source: Cinemablend
