M&M’s has paused its ‘spokecandies’ branding and replaced them with US comedian Maya Rudolph.
The move from the chocolate brand comes after a rebrand of the cartoon versions of the M&M’s caused backlash across the globe.
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson dubbed the rebrand as “Woke M&M’s” and criticised the brand for making the cartoon characters “less sexy”.
“M&M’s will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous. Until the moment you wouldn’t want to have a drink with any one of them. That’s the goal,” Mr Carlson said last year.
The chocolate company has since said that it will hire Maya Rudolph as its spokesperson, who is known for featuring in the film Bridesmaids and for her tenure on sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.
M&M’s said that its rebrand was not meant to “break the internet”, according to the BBC.
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In January of last year, the Mars Inc-owned brand said it updated its cartoon characters as part of a “global commitment to creating a world where everyone feels they belong and society is inclusive”. As part of the branding change, two female M&M’s characters wore less stereotypically feminine clothing, with the green M&M swapping out boots for sneakers and the brown M&M shortening the length of her heels.
The brand added: “Now we get it – even a candy’s shoes can be polarising. Which was the last thing M&M’s wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.
“Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong.”
The pausing of the ‘spokescandies’ has lead to criticism on social media, with some people condemning M&M’s for seemingly backing down on promoting inclusivity.
One person wrote: “I won’t be buying M&M’s until you bring back the spokescandies you cowards.”
I won’t be buying M&Ms until you bring back the spokescandies you cowards
— Travis Allen (@TravisAllen02) January 23, 2023
