Mars Wrigley, the iconic candy brand that owns M&M’s, announced today that the chocolate characters will be rebranded to better reflect today’s world. Now, the green M&M is swapping her usual white boots for a pair of sneakers and the internet is losing it.
The revamp of the classic characters includes new, “more nuanced” personality traits and emphasizes the “importance of self-expression”, according to Mars. The change comes from the company’s desire to enact “a new global commitment to create a world where everyone feels they belong.”
Because M&M’s six characters have been around since the 1990s, a shift to more relatable and modern character narratives seems only natural. Most noticeably, it seems to “empower” the feminine M&M’s, Brown and Green, more than it did before.
“M&M’S branding will also reflect an updated tone of voice that is more inclusive, welcoming, and unifying,” the candy company wrote in a statement, “while remaining rooted in our signature jester wit and humor.”
The green M&M, is well known for her long eyelashes, white boots, seductive posing in advertisements, and her reputation as an aphrodisiac. After the rebrand, she’s changed the boots to sport a pair of plain white sneakers and a hand on her hip. While still feminine, it’s evident that the character’s usual seductive qualities have been toned down. The character’s bio shifts the narrative of the flirtatious character towards empowerment, stating she believes that “we all win when we see more women in leading roles, so I’m happy to take on the part of supportive friend when they succeed.”
While some may believe this is a smart choice for the brand, the announcement has already been met with criticism. Twitter users have jumped on the breaking news with disappointment, rage, and an array of memes, many coming forward to point out the performative nature of the character change. Users have also commented on the wardrobe change of the green M&M, a character that has become a bit of a cultural icon, calling for a change back to the white boots because of her representation of femininity.
The brown M&M, the only other feminine M&M, has had the size of her heels lowered and is now a proud girlboss, her new bio quote reading, “Not bossy. Just the boss.” The rest of the chocolate personalities have not undergone big changes, yet their original traits such as the anxious orange M&M, arrogant red M&M, aloof yellow M&M, and suave blue M&M are further emphasized.
In a time of social movements and political division, many problematic logos and names have prompted food companies to rebrand to adapt to consumer demands. This isn’t the first time Mars has rebranded a product to remain relevant, when in 2020 the company changed their “Uncle Ben’s” rice product to “Ben’s Original” after receiving backlash for its racist implications.
This “woke” change to the characters was most likely an effort from Mars to appeal to Gen Z and younger consumers. Naturally, it’s turned into perfect meme content that’s taking over social media, thanks to the ridiculous changes to the green M&M.