M&M's fans rage at 'woke' new character
Candy manufacturer Mars Inc has introduced another big change since it unveiled new looks and personalities for its M&M's characters earlier this year, which stirred a furious response over the beloved mascots' progressive makeovers.
Now the M&M's manufacturer is introducing a new "spokescandy", a purple peanut M&M that the company says represents "acceptance and inclusivity", but has instead sparked online backlash once again for being too "woke" and trying to ram the company's message down people's throats.
The Purple M&M is the brand's first new character in a decade, and is supposed to be known for her earnest self-expression, the company said in its press release.
"Keen self-awareness, authenticity and confidence are the driving forces behind Purple's charm and quirky nature," the company said. "She joins the legendary cast of M&M's characters, who recently were given a refresh with updated looks and more nuanced personalities back in January."
'Go woke, go broke'
The Purple M&M, who made her official debut on YouTube singing "I'm Just Gonna Be Me", wears lace-up combat boots and is described as quirky, confident and a bit awkward.
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But as Purple joins the ranks of the iconic Red, Yellow, Green, Brown, Orange and Blue M&M's, consumers have once again slammed Mars for forcing "wokeness" on people.
"Oh give it a rest, they're sweets. Stop ramming this down our throats — go woke, go broke," someone commented.
"Yeah, we've had enough of the woke bulls**t. Just stop already," came another angry response.
While some people on social media joked about the predicted outrage the new character would cause, others questioned the concept of inclusiveness supposedly represented by the chocolates.
"Because orange, green, blue, brown and yellow weren't 'inclusive'? Wow. Is this what we have to sit around and worry about???" asked one Twitter user, while another replied, "It's candy folks. Candy."
"Nobody wants to hear about politics from an M&M," commented a fourth, while another wrote: "Why is it necessary? What's next, Snickers announcing that all of their peanuts come from minority-owned farms? Who gives a crap? Candy doesn't need to have a message."
"I don't eat candy with a far left communist agenda," another critic commented.
Others took issue with the ingredients of the new character.
"Not inclusive to anyone with a peanut allergy," someone tweeted.
"How can chocolate be inclusive when it is made from whole milk, cocoa butter, and sugar? Most diabetics can't eat it because of sugar, lactose intolerant people can't eat them, and people with a dairy allergy," commented someone else.
M&M's characters move with the times
The introduction of the Purple M&M's character follows a refresh that involved subtle changes to the appearance of the two female characters, who traded their footwear for something less "sexy".
Gone were the brown M&M's stilettos, and gone were the green M&M's iconic go-go boots - replaced respectively with more practical pumps and "cool, laid-back sneakers", angering many fans online.
The brand also removed the prefixes of "Mr" and "Ms" from the each of the characters' names to make them more genderless, and changed the Orange M&M's personality, giving it a more "anxious" look "to better reflect young people".
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