Commodity Activism: The "De-Yassification" of the Green M&M
On January 20th, 2022, Mars Chocolate announced the rebrand of the iconic M&M’s candies with an ambitious goal of, “increasing the sense of belonging for 10 million people around the world by 2025.”
In short, Mars is seeking to complete this goal through a rebrand of the six M&M adored candy characters. What this will include is:
An updated “tone of voice” that is more welcoming
Emphasis on the logo’s “&” to focus on how the brand brings people together
Use different shapes and sizes of M&M candies
And of course, the de-yassification of the green M&M
De-yassification: coined on Twitter, de-yassification is getting rid of any glitz or glam and returning back to a normal state
You can read a full list of Mars Chocolates' goals here.
The beloved green M&M is being “de-yassified” by having her one-centimeter-heeled booties robbed for a modest white sneaker, and her once sassy expression swapped out for something more impartial. To cover up her bare legs, she has been put into a pair of white slacks.
According to The Guardian, advertisers are trying to target the new and emerging market of young liberals. While Twitter has been in fumes over the Green M&M losing her desirable appeal, this idea of a brand being “woke,” (politically “correct”) can be effective at times. The Guardian says, “Yet, despite all of the limits of the woke ads – or, as some call the phenomenon, “faux woke” – and to a smaller extent, the new consumer activism, both give people like me a pathetic satisfaction.” At the end of the day, some consumers like to feel like the world is an accepting place even if it is a false sense of security. This can be seen in several ways beyond making characters more “feminist-friendly”. For example, companies often change their profile picture on Linkedin to a rainbow during Pride month. It builds loyalty and makes the consumer feel as if they are a part of something better.
What this “wokeness” really is, is tone-deaf. In my opinion, if Mars Chocolate wanted to increase a sense of belonging and inclusivity by 2025, they would not focus on putting pants on a fictional candy. Rather, they could make active goals to employ more people in underprivileged communities to increase inclusivity. Or, they could create campaigns that would donate a percentage of sales to small not-for-profit organizations supporting social justice causes.
The idea behind this wokeness is commodity activism. Sarah Banet-Weiser, author and advertising expert at The University of Southern California states, “Those who study commercials can also be skeptical of these precision Democratic and/or “activist” ads. “Empowering girls becomes a product unto itself. That’s commodity activism: there’s no real connection to structural change.” Commodity activism is financially profiting off of real-life issues. Banet-Weiser discusses how using activism should not make the brand itself more profitable.
Commodity activism can be harmful because it takes away from true activism. As a consumer, it is important to be aware of commodity activism and realize when it occurs in brands. While it may be difficult to stop supporting brands that use commodity activism, a great first step is an awareness behind these profit-motivated “woke” moves.
Source list:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/06/progressive-advertising-fake-woke
https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases/mms-announces-global-commitment-inclusivity
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/9/7/17831334/nike-colin-kaepernick-ad
