Online controversy leads M&M’s to change spokesperson

Due to an overwhelming amount of negative feedback and controversy around the changes to the iconic M&M’s ‘spokescandies,’ the brand has decided to change their marketing strategy and get rid of the candy characters entirely, replacing the face of M&M’s with comedian and actress, Maya Rudolph.

The controversy that caused this change was a result of the female M&M’s in particular. The green M&M who is known for wearing high heeled boots was altered to wear sneakers. The idea that she was being made more “masculine” got a lot of people upset. 

Chris Orsi, 22, said, “I don’t really see a problem with the company changing from heels to sneakers, they’re just shoes. Girls wear sneakers just as much as boys. I don’t see sneakers as a masculine item.”

The M&M’s characters were involved in another controversy earlier this year when the three female M&M’s stood alone on the packaging, a marketing campaign to celebrate this year's upcoming women’s day. Money from these sales was to go to various women’s organizations. “I personally would have liked to see the three women M&M’s on their packaging,” said Skylar Ploshay, sophomore at Sonoma State. “Their target audience is children and it is good for them to see such a large brand empowering women (even if they are candy) and making them the star of the show.” 

The decision to get rid of the M&M’s characters altogether due to these controversies has been heavily discussed among people on the internet.

Orsi also had a few things to say about the new face of the company. “In reference to Maya Rudolph, I personally think she’s a good fit to be M&M’s spokesperson,” Orsi said. “I believe that the company made a good decision in light of the situation. M&M’s are just a candy. It was almost weird that the candy mascots were getting ‘too sexy.’ I guess they were just following the theme that sex sells.”

Whether the company should have stuck with their original decision to change the characters or to get rid of them altogether is discussed more by Ploshay. “I think PR decisions in any situation are always tricky. Whatever they put out in the world someone will have something negative to say about it, so with that they either need to be able to take that criticism or explain their choice,” she said. 

Ploshay stated that they should have done a better job at sticking with their decisions despite the turmoil that it caused or would further cause, or let the consumers know what exactly caused this change of branding. “I think transparency is always important so if they would have talked us through their decisions instead of just jumping the gun and taking it down, people would have been more willing to roll with it,” Ploshay said.

When asked about how she feels about Maya Rudolph becoming the new face of M&M’s, Ploshay had positive feedback, although she stated that she “appreciated the old animated M&M’s.” 

“She is a very funny actress and I think would actually match the vibes in the old commercials well and I think that will be a smoother transition, rather than someone who completely changes how things used to be.” Ploshay concluded, “This is a case where it could either be really successful for them, or not, and no one will know until it is actually out there in the world.” 

Maya Rudolph will be introduced as the new face of M&M’s during a Superbowl commercial on Sunday.