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If you are a corporate mascot, you are in danger. Are you up to date enough? Are you awake enough? The M&M spokesperson is just the latest to be swallowed up by leftist dominance in corporate culture.
Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, the Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins have all been replaced with less fun, less memorable, and corporately household names. The Pearl Milling Company, Ben’s Original (how unoriginal!) The Cleveland Guardian, and most commonly the Washington Commander. Land O Lakes Butter’s Mia and her sidekick, her Frito Bandito, were simply sacrificed at the corporate altar of wakemanship. (Awakened personality?)
That’s what happened on Mars. M&M’s public relations strategy was to wake up the popular family brand overnight. The declared goal was to “create a world where everyone feels they belong and where society is inclusive”.
That left-handed Corpse Peak didn’t work out, so the media…blamed conservatives.CNBC said Mars dropped the candy “in a right-wing rage.” CNN blamed “a year of conservative backlash against the brand.” But Mars admitted that the chocolatey spokescan was “polarizing.”
M&M’S DITCHES ‘SPOKESCANDIES’ – for now – after steps to promote inclusivity
It hasn’t been that way before, but it’s safe to say that Mars started it. M&Ms has finally ditched the waking marketing the company has attempted to shove down its customers’ throats from nearly a year ago to today. That campaign was introduced with clever strategies for dealing with a “dynamic, progressive world.”
By March, Ad Week was headlining M&M’s Global VP Jane Hwang’s “Brand Evolution and Future-proofing.” (It’s a future-proof, given that the corporate version of “The Last of Us” is where the brand wanted it to end up.)
This revolutionary campaign updated the appearance of iconic characters and introduced a new purple character. It also included a corporate partnership with bizarre music performer Lil Nas X, known for sexual videos and for marketing his “Devil’s Shoes” made of real blood drops. Mars described him as a “musical superstar”. Of course, we left out the satanic stuff.
Custom candies included “butterflies, hearts, and images from Lil Nas X photos.” Surprisingly, there was no pentagram and no goat’s head. Someone in marketing has failed. M&Ms didn’t even partner with the Church of Satan. “M&M’S® Partners With Lil Nas X To Bring People Together Through Music, Art And Entertainment.”
When the Purple M was introduced in September, it deliberately evoked fascination. Ad Week once again laid out Mars’ agenda.
Finally, Mars conceded defeat. That iconic spokes-scandide is just a shell of its former self. Actress/comedian Maya Rudolph is taking her place in a new Super Bowl ad.
Even fellow leftists at The Washington Post were skeptical of the whole situation. , another marketing stunt?”
Most likely a bit of both. Mars is trying to make the most of a disastrous campaign that alienates customers. But by choosing Rudolph to play Vice President Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live,” they’re soothing the still-awake audience.
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This should come as no surprise. His ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policies for corporations are determined to wake up any corporations that the Left has not yet conquered. The corporate left doesn’t care if their move offends customers. They just need to appease their left-wing and legacy media peers, not that they’re much different.
A move to the Washington Redskins also angered core clients. The cancellation came on top of decades of team incompetence and scandal. Changing his name didn’t matter to his native American either. Washington he was only a post enthusiast.
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And the attacks on Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben were so ridiculous that they even generated a “Saturday Night Live” skit mocking the decision. Ironically, Jemima was played by her new M&M spokesperson, Rudolph.
The expression “woke up, broke” doesn’t exactly apply here. People still eat M&Ms. Mars foolishly followed in the footsteps of other failed marketers and undermined consumer loyalty to its products. The very icon they spent decades building was torn down in a matter of months.
But hey, I woke up. And that’s all that matters.
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