M&M’s is making a feminist statement with its latest candy pack, which features an array of female characters — including Purple, its newest addition.
Candy maker Mars has announced that the limited-edition women’s pack will only include Purple, Brown and Green — the candy’s trio of female characters, who are upside down on the packaging — to “celebrate women everywhere who are changing The status quo“. The sweets are now on sale.
Purple, thespokescandy(sweet rep) announced last year (and the first new M&M’S character in a decade), is a purple peanut M&M. According to the brand, she is a singer who trades high heels for lace-up boots and has a quirky and confident personality.
“The M&M’S brand is on a mission to use the power of fun to create purposeful connections as we work to create a world where everyone feels like they belong,” said Gabrielle Wesley, director of marketing for Mars Wrigley North America, in a press release. .
The packages come in three options: milk chocolate, peanut butter and peanuts. Mars said a portion of the proceeds will go to organizations that are “uplifting and empowering women,” including She Is The Music and We Are Moving the Needlenon-profit organizations that support women in the music industry.
The all-female posse quickly sparked the “culture wars” outrage in the right-wing media, most notably Fox News. A network anchor said the advanced feminist package encourages China.
“If that’s what you need for validation, an M&M that’s the color you think is associated with feminism, then I’m worried about you,” anchor Martha MacCallum said Monday.
“I think that makes China say, ‘Oh well, keep focusing on that. Keep focusing on giving people their own color of M&M’s as we take over all mineral deposits worldwide’.”
Changes at M&M’s
In addition to adding Purple to the lineup, M&M’S has made other changes to the 82-year-old brand in recent months, including tweaks to its logo and new shoes for its six characters in a bid to modernize the candy.
Green traded his go-go boots for sneakers. Brown is wearing lower, more sensible heels. Red and Yellow’s shoes now have laces. Orange’s shoelaces are no longer untied. And Blue’s shoes, while barely altered, resemble what Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley North America, described as “a bad version of Uggs.”
However, there was an overreaction to Green’s new shoes last year.
An op-ed in the Washington Post declared “The M&M’s Changes Are Not Progressive. Return the boots to Green. In a provocatively titled article, Rolling Stone described the shift as “nothing more than tectonic.” Thousands have signed a petition to “keep the M&M green sexy”.
Changes to beloved characters can provoke a strong response on social media. When Lola Bunny got a new look for the new Space Jam movie, for example, fans were equally outraged.
Jane Hwang, global vice president of M&M’S, previously told CNN that the reaction to Green’s change was “unprecedented”.
“We were incredibly impressed,” she added. “Now we know for sure that M&M’S is a cultural icon.”
M&M’S has no plans to restore Green’s look. “The characters are continually evolving to reflect the times we live in,” Hwang said, adding that the brand hopes consumers “know our characters much more than their footwear.”
– CNN’s Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.
Source: CNN Brasil
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