Who does not know that chocolate that “melts in your mouth, not in your hand”? It’s true, we all know about M&M’s, small pieces of sugar-coated milk chocolate produced by Mars Incorporated, which are popular in many countries around the world.
These famous candies were originally made in six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and blue. While there are some variations, they are less common to find, such as: mint chocolate, dulce de leche, caramel, almond, peanut butter, white chocolate (with and without peanuts), milk chocolate with puffed rice, and dark chocolate, among others.
The M&M’s name comes to be a trademark owned by the United States chocolate company, Mars.
What is the history of M&M’s?
According to the M&M’s page, its history is over 100 years old. “Now we have new products and services, new business segments and thousands of new partners, but one thing remains the same: at heart, we are still a family business. You have enjoyed Mars products and services for years,” they say.
M&M’s is a brand of chocolates in the shape of the letter “m” covered in a thin layer of chocolate with a colored coating. It was created in the United States in 1941 by Forrest Mars, Sr. and William FR Murrie. Mars’ original idea was to create a chocolate that would not easily melt in the heat, making it ideal for soldiers during World War II. Since then, M&M’s have become a very popular brand around the world, expanding into a variety of different flavors and sizes.
M&M’s are a brand that is part of the company Mars, Inc., an American company based in McLean, Virginia, specialized in the manufacture of food and sweets. It was founded in 1911 by Frank C. Mars, who began making candies in his kitchen. Over time, the company expanded and began manufacturing additional products, such as chocolates and candies. In 1923, Frank Mars created the “Milky Way” brand and in 1929, he created the “3 Musketeers” brand. During World War II, the company specialized in durable goods for the military. In 1946, Frank Mars, son of Frank C. Mars, joined the company and began expanding it overseas. In 1964, Mars Inc. became a private company and today is one of the largest food and candy companies in the world, with popular brands such as M&M’s, Snickers, Skittles and Twix.
The M&M’s characters are a series of animated spokesmen representing the brand of chocolates in the shape of the letter “m” covered in a thin layer of chocolate with a colored coating. The characters were created in 1954, but were not released to the market until 1975. The original characters were a group of three M&M’s of different colors, yellow, red and green, that appeared in advertisements.
In 1996, new characters were launched on the market, a yellow M&M’s and a red one, who became the face of the brand. The yellow M&M’s is known as “Yellow” and is considered the leader of the group, while the red M&M’s is known as “Red” and is considered Yellow’s best friend. Over the years, additional characters have been added to the group, such as a blue M&M’s named “Blue”, a purple M&M’s named “Ms. Brown” and a green M&M’s called “Green”.
These characters have been used in many advertisements, television commercials, movies, and promotions. They have also been used to create a variety of toys, clothing, and fashion accessories. These characters have gained fame among consumers and have helped strengthen the M&M’s brand.
What happened to the M&M’s characters?
M&M’s has decided to indefinitely retire its famous spokespersons in the form of chocolate dragees because the conservative right in the United States considers them too “progres” (progressive).
“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies,” the chocolate candy brand said in a statement Monday. “We weren’t sure if anyone would notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet.”
The candy brand revamped the image of the feminine, green M&M by adding sneakers instead of boots. The internet went wild and launched a 20,000-signature petition to make green M&Ms “sexy” again.
Subsequently, the company presented a new female character, a purple M&M, which would seek to “represent acceptance and inclusiveness.” These sweets were launched in special bags for International Women’s Day that aroused criticism.
They accuse M&M’s of being too “liberal”
This launch was strongly criticized by media such as Fox News, which accused M&M of being “woke” (“progre”) and of launching a purple candy, associated with the feminist movement, to seek validation.
Through Twitter M&M’s announced that its characters will take “an indefinite break.”
Now we get it: even a candy shoe can be polarizing. Which is the last thing M&M wanted, since what matters most to us is bringing people together.”
the company noted.
M&M’S, owned by Mars, also announced that comedian and actress Maya Rudolph will now serve as the brand’s spokesperson.
“We are confident that Ms. Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels like they belong.”
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