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The Mars company just announced a makeover for its M&M candies and its branding.
That includes the shape of the candies themselves and the way they are portrayed as personalities. But the public is not impressed.
Brands are really scrambling all over the place trying to find ways to express their values and show how in-tune with the zeitgeist they are. And so, now, M&Ms will be breaking out uniform shapes for its iconic candies and instead use a variety of different shapes and sizes of the brand’s colorful lentils across all touchpoints.
The point? To prove that “all together, we’re more fun.”
It will also be offering a more gender-neutral brand refresh for the cartoon mascots that represent them.
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That means that this year, it’s making changes to the look of the candies, as well as how they are represented – from the characterization of each color to the details of the ampersand in the name.
The specific changes include the following four elements, according to the company:
- A fresh, modern take on the looks of our beloved characters and more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression and power of community through storytelling
- An enhanced focus on the brand’s iconic color palette and the use of different shapes and sizes of M&M’s lentils across all touchpoints to prove that all together, we’re more fun
- An added emphasis on the ampersand – a distinctive element within the M&M’S logo that serves to connect the two Ms –to demonstrate how the brand aims to bring people together
- An updated tone of voice that is more inclusive, welcoming, and unifying, while remaining rooted in our signature jester wit and humor
“M&M’S has long been committed to creating colorful fun for all, and this purpose serves as a more concrete commitment to what we’ve always believed as a brand: that everyone has the right to enjoy moments of happiness, and fun is the most powerful way to help people feel that they belong,” said Cathryn Sleight, Chief Growth Officer at Mars Wrigley.
Mars says it’s not just about candy but a larger commitment “to create a world where society is inclusive.” The emphasis on women’s representation is what trickles down to showing the candies that have female identities wearing more sensible shows now than they have in the past.
For example, Ms. Brown’s high heels have been replaced by sensible pumps. Ms. Green’s heeled boots are replaced by comfortable sneakers.
I’m all for comfortable footwear myself and gave up on high heels long ago, though I have to say, I don’t really believe that cartoon renderings designed to sell candies will have a direct impact on female choices. The representations of different types of people could add to the fun consuming candies but they really don’t direct people’s life decisions.
Indeed, that kind of critique was raised even by those who are very much in favor of female representation because they grasp the fact that fictionalized progress is no substitute for real progress. That’s one camp, and the other just is tired of seeing brands claiming they’re saving the world through their products and marketing.
M&M’s announcement about the changes included a YouTube video:
The comments are probably not quite what they were expecting, or they would have disabled them, to begin with.
Despite marketers insisting that people want to see their values reflected in brand messaging, claiming too much for a brand makeover can backfire. It’s clear that audiences are not nearly as impressed with the brand message as the brand is with itself, and that’s not a win. Keeping such initiatives a little more humble will contribute to their authenticity.