The maker of M&M’s has announced it will discontinue its animated “spokescandy” characters following an avalanche of negative consumer reaction toward the blatantly woke turn the once-universally loved candy had taken.
In place of it animated “spokescandy” characters, Mars has hired former NBC’s Saturday Night Live actress Maya Rudolph as the brand’s new celebrity face, calling her someone “America can agree on.” Less than half of America to be exact: Rudolph backed Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential run and is a friend of Vice President Kamala Harris, whom she has played on SNL.
M&M’s made the announcement via a tweet on Monday.
“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet. But now we get it– even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing,” the makers said.
A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
What they didn’t mention was that the new M&M’s “spokescandies” were pushing wokeness. Last year, Mars said it wanted the animated characters to be more “inclusive” to reflect a “more dynamic, progressive world.”
In one case, the green female M&M no longer wore sexy stilettos in an apparent bid to be less sexist. Instead, she was given sensible athletic shoes, claiming to enjoy “being a hypewoman for my friends.”
The brown M&M also received a gender-inclusive makeover, with her new slogan stating, “Not bossy. Just the boss.”
Mars also introduced a new female character, Purple, in another bid for inclusivity as purple is frequently associated with the LGBTQ movement. The purple M&M even got her own music video, “I’m Just Gonna Be Me.”
The company said that the makeovers included an “updated tone of voice” to make people feel “inclusive, welcoming, and unifying.”
The changes were met with strong pushback from consumers.
Jane Hwang, global vice president of M&M’s, told CNN that the reaction to Green’s change was “unprecedented” and that “we were incredibly overwhelmed.” But, she said at the time, “now we know for certain that M&M’S is a cultural icon.”
As Breitbart News reported, Maya Rudolph is far from a unifying cultural figure. The actress opposed then-President Donald Trump’s border wall, saying at the Academy Awards in 2019 that “Mexico isn’t paying for the wall.”
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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