February 19, 2025

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Backlash Or Marketing Savvy? M&Ms And The Perils Of Brands Playing The Culture Wars

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Backlash Or Marketing Savvy? M&Ms And The Perils Of Brands Playing The Culture Wars

Image caption – Calm down, boys: Weeks into their new campaign, this trio of female candy characters have been put “on pause” because its parent is hungry for peace. Image courtesy of Mars, Inc. Article by Diane Brady. Forbes – January 24, 2023.

After reading this week that the M&M’s brand had decided to take “an indefinite pause” from using four-month-old Purple and its other spokescandies because their symbolism was polarizing, I was reminded of another purple character that once made other pundits fear for America’s future. In early 1999, in the days when my friend could carry an antique 6-foot spear on board a plane because it didn’t fit in his luggage, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. made headlines for warning that a dumpling-shaped TV character forged in the U.K. was promoting a gay lifestyle to children. […]

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