M&M’s spokescandies change was actually a Super Bowl ad stunt - Polygon

Good news: The non-sexy greenish M&M is coming back! On Monday, M&M’s genitor institution Mars Wrigley announced that it would beryllium pulling its M&M’s ‘spokescandies’ mascots indefinitely and replacing them with the histrion Maya Rudolph. However, the institution told the New York Times connected Friday that the arguable determination was each conscionable a PR stunt, and that the spokescandies volition so instrumentality astatine the upcoming Super Bowl.

“Rest assured, the characters are our authoritative semipermanent spokescandies,” Mars Wrigley said successful a connection to the New York Times. The mascots are taking a interruption for the clip being, but the M&M’s Super Bowl advertisement volition resoluteness the concern and bring backmost the spokescandies, a typical for the institution said.

The twisting communicative started astir a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile Mars Wrigley rebranded the mascot candies to go much inclusive and bespeak much modern sensibilities. For example, the greenish M&M was changed truthful she had shorter legs and stopped wearing precocious heels. The redesign prompted backlash from far-right pundits similar Tucker Carlson, who criticized the changes arsenic “woke.”

Although nary caller changes had been announced, Carlson brought up the spokescandies erstwhile again successful caller weeks. Then on Monday, Mars Wrigley made its announcement astir the spokescandies’ “indefinite pause.” The puzzling determination referenced the “polarizing” quality of the greenish M&M’s shoes, truthful it appeared to beryllium meant to temper the right-wing backlash. However, the institution had also announced conscionable past month that it would person an M&M’s advertisement run tied to the Super Bowl. Now we cognize that it was each conscionable 1 elephantine troll.