folio & fable Designs

On January 20, 2022, Mars Wrigley took it upon themselves to solve the world’s problems. They singlehandedly dismantled all oppressive systems with one swift change of wardrobe for the M&M’s family. In gen Z terms: they really thought they did something.

In case you haven’t heard, there were a few changes made to our beloved edible friends. To begin, the prefixes of the characters’ names were dropped, allowing a more gender fluid perception of the individuals. Seems a little performative, but nonetheless it was a bold business decision. While Pride has a strong hold of respect in the market, there are still several stragglers working on grasping the idea of what it means to be non-binary. Regardless, with the honorifics being dropped, it shifts the customer’s attention over to the personality traits of the M&M’s. There will be a stronger sisterhood bond between Brown and Green, a healthier relationship from Red towards all of his co-workers, and a more embracive approach from Orange about his anxiety. Moving on to the physical attributes: Orange learned how to tie his shoes, Brown had been reduced to a chunky kitten heel, and Blue and Green put on some long sleeves and leggings. All would’ve been well for those not familiar with the specifics of iconography, if Mars Wrigley had not taken it one step further: They killed Green’s boots.

For those of you who are Skittles fans, Green was best known for her sexy, white, Stuart Weitzman boots. She had slayed her sultry and desirable personality, empowered by her sensual style and confident poses. In 2010, Green was even deemed America’s favorite M&M’s character. With the death of our go-go’s, it gathered audiences around and encouraged us to take another look at the reimagined family, with a keener eye. That’s when we began to question the true intentions behind Brown’s new kitten-heels.

This is the age where companies are constantly making efforts to one-up each other in the race for becoming progressive, but in doing so, you begin to back track. By taking away a character’s boots because it allows men to sexualize her, diminishes the situation of “well, on the other hand.” How women view her sex appeal, is rooted in her confidence. She wears the boots to feel sexy. Now, I understand that it is a fictional character, but this happens to us every day. Take December 25, 2021, for example. I decided to wear makeup to my family Christmas dinner – bold, right? As you can imagine, I received the usual slew of comments: Who are you dressing up for? Me. I’m dressing up for me. I understand that I have the ability to turn heads; all women do, but we’re not a deer in the headlights after we give men whiplash. We’ve been teaching ourselves to feel empowered and use our voices. Taking away the “look good” in look good, feel good is just regressive.

With the new mission of “creating a world where everyone feels they belong,” I feel a little less included. Now, I adore that they are taking on “[a]n updated tone of voice that is more inclusive, welcoming, and unifying, while remaining rooted in [their] signature jester wit and humor,” but that should not be used as a blanket statement for all of their conscious decisions. Considering that this is the anthropomorphism of candy, I wouldn’t have concerned myself with the practical shoe choice of fictional characters. However, changing one’s appearance to a bland take in efforts to suppress the sexual desires of sexist men doesn’t feel super woke.

Now, I’m writing all of this while eating a certain candy that happens to not melt in your hand. It should be noted that I am a big fan of M&M’s. And, as my fiancé so kindly put it: they didn’t mean to cause harm. The times he is “right” are rare, but here we are. So, as a nod to the snack that got me through college, I’ve decided to help Mars out with a few consumer recommendations. First, I plead you to stick with the non-binary pronouns and attitude shifts! Performative or not, the change has been acknowledged and implemented. The change in relationships among the group nurture a family bond and is simply a beneficial lesson for kids and adults, alike. As far as the wardrobe change goes, there are a couple ways to spin it:

1. ‘Fess up. Honesty is the best policy, blah, blah, blah. Change the outfits back and the crisis will soon be over! Give my girl’s go-go boots back and host a Twitter challenge encouraging individuals to post their confident selves in the work place. Use the hashtag #GreenWithConfidence to shift the conversation to show your stance on empowerment.
2. Use this as an opportunity to help flatten the curve! While we are all for wearing stilettos to work, most of us are not physically going to work. We made our own wardrobe changes for the time being, too. Dress up the chocolate coated candy in masks and make us earn back our pumps and boots once the daily average of new reported cases of Coronavirus drops below 15,000 a day. That’s what I call activism!
3. Use this rebrand as the M&M’s base model. We’re trying to sell products, people! Utilize this as an opportunity to get traffic through to eCommerce. Have a whole lineup of shoes, sleeves, and jeans ready for kids to play digital dress up and charge people an additional $3 for a customization fee on all orders. Now all of the colors can wear Prada pumps! Yass, incusive queen!

Mars was right in the sense that individuals are drawn to brands that best align with their own values, but dictating the definition of “work appropriate attire” for women is not a part of those morals that I cherish. I sincerely hope that they take this as an opportunity to understand what it truly means to be inclusive.