Written by Feferi Fiske

The m&m’s spokescandies have recently come under fire- to the point where they had to be put on an ‘indefinite pause’ and are currently replaced by actress Maya Rudolph. But, why? What did these silly little treats do to offend so many people?

In January of 2022, the m&m’s underwent a slight redesign. The biggest changes were for their original two female candies, Green and Brown. Ms. Green’s go-go boots were replaced with sneakers, while Ms. Brown’s heels were lowered and made into a different and simpler shape. There was also an addition of a third female m&m, Purple with a peanut, who is rounder than the other two leading ladies with combat boots and a self-loving attitude. The design change and addition of a new character was intended to empower women, but many of the company’s original consumers were not fans. 

The infamous Tucker Carlson, a host on Fox News, has very strong feelings about it. Specifically for the green m&m. Carlson was very upset with the changes and made a few headlines mocking the fans of it. Headlines from his segments have included, “Candy in Sexy Shoes Highly Offensive”

Many speculated the m&ms would return for the Super Bowl ads, but this was not 100% the case. The m&ms came back to the commercial realm with the 2023 Super Bowl, but they were not in the front lines. The ad was for the supposedly re-rebranded m&ms, the clam flavored ma&yas, while the spokescandies were distressed in the background.

They’re also finding ways to put them into other brands, like Snickers, in smaller advertisements on social media sites like Instagram.

When asked how she feels about the changes to the m&m’s commercials, Rush student Abbey Konde says, “What the heck is going on! Are they gone or not, what is Maya Rudolph doing here? Make up your mind!”. m&ms fans everywhere are in disarray about both the redesigns and the ma&yas rebranding. 

In February of 2023, the m&ms spokescandies made a return and are officially back for good. They stated the original changes were due to conversations around the mascots becoming too ‘lively’, and the Super Bowl campaigns were to help make it fun again! Now that the m&ms are back, many can stop worrying about the state of their favorite candy-people. 

Lots of people still have questions. Is that the real reason the m&ms seemingly disappeared? Was it all for the ads? Was it worth it? Is this a successful ad campaign?