M&M’s shakes things up with new Purple character

Purple recently joined the M&M’s team of “spokescandies.” So, now there are seven members in the crew of animated mascots.

 

Red, Yellow, Blue and Orange are in the boys’ club. Purple has joined Green and Brown to form the girls’ group.

 

There was a news media frenzy when Purple, with a peanut M&M’s body shape, was introduced to the public in the fall of 2022. 

Purple is voiced by American actress and comedian Amber Ruffin. Purple is the first newcomer to the cast of characters since 2012, when Brown was welcomed aboard to assume the role of “boss lady.” 

One of the most comprehensive news accounts of Purple’s debut was written by Chloë Nannestad for Reader’s Digest. 

According to Mars, Incorporated (M&M’s parent company), “Purple is designed to represent acceptance and inclusivity.” Nannestad added: “She is charming and quirky, wears trendy lace-up boots and is known for her earnest self-authenticity and confidence.” 

Purple’s theme song is “I’m Just Gonna Be Me.” 

“The new Purple is a fun addition to the candy crew, but you won’t find purple M&M’s on store shelves,” Nannestad said. 

She’s right. None of the bags of M&M’s sold at retail contains even a single purple M&M. Inquiring minds want to know…why not? 

Mars’ executives have deftly dodged that question, leaving their fans in a bit of a lurch to speculate about the future of purple M&M’s. 

Brianna Wellen, associate editor of TheTakeout.com, a food and pop culture website based in Chicago, is fairly steamed about Mars’ smugness. She said: “It seems that M&M’S is placing the majority of its focus on the mascots. Why not herald the arrival of this new character with a complementary candy?”

 

Brianna Wellen

“Fans of M&M’s probably get more excited about the contents of the bag than the characters on the front of it. Adding one more color to the classic mix doesn’t feel like too harsh a demand.” 

What’s especially peculiar about this whole situation is that the very first batch of M&M’s, which was rolled out in 1941, offered five original colors – “red, yellow, green, brown and violet.” (Most people would say violet and purple are synonymous.) 

Anyway, in 1949, M&M’s made a “drastic change to their color palette,” said Sarah Kleppe, a contributor to the Spoon University collegiate website. “They removed the purple M&M and switched it to tan. In no universe would I be more inclined to eat a tan candy than a purple one, but for some reason, someone thought tan was the way to go.”

 

Sarah Kleppe

“The tan M&M remained in the mix until 1995 when the company officials finally came to their senses” Kleppe said, and gave tan the boot. 

Mars held a contest to replace tan. The choices were blue, pink or purple. Blue won out. 

Nannestad said: “Purple got another chance at life in 2002, when Mars conducted a global competition. “Candy lovers from all over the world voted for purple, aqua or pink as an M&M color, and this time purple won. But the celebration was short-lived.” 

M&M seemingly changed the rules. The purple M&M’s were declared “a limited-edition candy and soon gone from our shelves – but not from our hearts,” Nannestad said. 

The M&M’s brand manager in 2002 acknowledged that purple is “a popular and royal color. People love it around the world,” he said. 

Yet, purple is being denied its rightful place in the M&M’s color palette. 

One cynic observed: “It makes about as much sense as New Coke did in 1985.”