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a light edit of the entire article - effort to differentiate between the brand name of the logo and the parent company, as well as correcting the plural for the sugarcoated confections - unsure whether the edit regarding the peanut variety (noted in the beginning of the sentence) made a transition to having the shell coating or whether two varieties with peanut resulted in the development of the peanut type — please correct if determined to be the latter |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{infobox brand
| name = M&M
| logo = M&M's 2022.svg
| logo_size = 210
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| website = {{url|mms.com}}
}}
[[File:1941mandms.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Chocolate]] confections were introduced in 1941 by M&M Limited in Newark, New Jersey]]▼
[[File:M&m2.jpg|thumb|Peanut M&Ms have a different shape]]▼
'''M&M's''' is the brand name of a color-varied sugar-coated, [[dragée]] [[chocolate]] [[confectionery]] made by the [[Wrigley Company|Mars Wrigley Confectionery]] division of [[Mars Inc.]] that was founded as M&M Limited in 1941. The confection consists of a candy shell surrounding a filling that determines the specific type or variety. Each piece has the letter "m" printed in [[lower case]] in white on one side. They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years.
The original confection of this brand had a [[semi-sweet chocolate]] filling that upon introduction of other varieties, was branded as the "plain, normal" variety. The first alternate variety to be introduced was the Peanut M&M
In 1941, the confection came into production in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbOsI9RG8fYC&q=peanut+m&pg=PA84|title=Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|date=2002|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=9780252025532|language=en}}</ref> Since 2003, the confections have been sold in more than 100 countries.<ref name="usat03"/> The candy-coated chocolate confection was created by [[Forrest Mars Sr.]], likely inspired from [[Smarties]] confection that he may have encountered during the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/forrest-mars-mms-late-1930s/|title=Forrest Mars. M&Ms. Late 1930s|website=MoMA.org}}</ref> A sugar coating made it possible to carry chocolate in warm climates [[Melting point of chocolate|without it melting]] and that characteristic eventually prompted his company's longest-lasting marketing slogan that became, "the milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand".
A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs approximately 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces.<ref>Per M&M/Mars FAQ, [http://www.mymms.com/customer_service/FAQ.aspx#nq10 How many candies are in a bag?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310225706/http://www.mymms.com/customer_service/faq.aspx#nq10 |date=March 10, 2015 }} mymms.com
{{Cite web |url=http://www.mymms.com/customer_service/faq.aspx |title=Personalized Gifts, Favors and More | M&M'S |access-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310225706/http://www.mymms.com/customer_service/faq.aspx |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> It has approximately 4.7 [[calories]] (kcal) of [[food energy]] (1.7 kcal from fat).<ref>By calculation from [http://www.mms.com/us/nutrition#milk M&M's nutrition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314040531/http://www.mms.com/us/nutrition#milk |date=March 14, 2015 }} info page.</ref> Contrary to a misconception held by some, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor, all possess the same chocolate taste.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mashed.com/769584/does-each-mms-color-have-a-different-taste/ | title=Does Each M&M's Color Have a Different Taste? | date=February 15, 2022 }}</ref>
== History ==
=== 1940–70s: Beginnings ===
▲[[File:1941mandms.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Chocolate]] confections were introduced in 1941 by M&M Limited in Newark, New Jersey]]
In the 1930s, [[Forrest Mars Sr.]], son of the Mars Company founder, [[Franklin Clarence Mars]], saw soldiers in the [[Spanish Civil War]] eating [[Smarties]], British-made chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the chocolate confection from melting that were produced under the brand name, Rowntree.
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=== 1980s: Expanding internationally ===
▲[[File:M&m2.jpg|thumb|Peanut M&Ms have a different shape]]
In the 1980s, the confections were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/ |title=M&M'S About M&MS: History |website=Mms.com |date=October 6, 2010 |access-date=November 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124062134/http://mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/ |archive-date=November 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> M&Ms Royals were marketed in the early 1980s with an advertising campaign that said: "Now chocolate's got a whisper of mint." They were colored pale green or brown and showed a crown rather than an M&Ms logo.
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In 1990 at New York's Erie County Fair, the company exhibited a life-size fiberglass cow covered with 66,000 M&M candies—each adhered by hand with the "m" logo on each candy facing outward. According to a website run by the cow's designer, Michael Adams, the stunt earned M&M Mars $1 million in free publicity because it was reported on by ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine, as well as the ''[[New York Post]]'', [[UPI]], [[WABC-TV]], and ''[[Live with Regis]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.behindthescenesmarketing.com/events-tshws-props/01_cow.html |title=Events – M&M Candy Cow |website=Behindthescenesmarketing.com |access-date=January 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203033725/http://www.behindthescenesmarketing.com/events-tshws-props/01_cow.html |archive-date=February 3, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1995, the company ran M&M's Color Campaign, a contest in which participants were given the choice of selecting purple, blue, or pink as the color of a new variety of the confection. The announcement of the winning color (blue) was carried on most of the network television news programs, as well as the talk shows of [[David Letterman]] and [[Jay Leno]].<ref name="Luther2001"/> As part of the contest results, the company had the [[Empire State Building]] lighted in blue.<ref name="Luther2001"/> Although the financial details of these deals were not disclosed and neither was the effect of the campaign on sales, one marketing book estimated that the company "collected millions" in free publicity and that the campaign "certainly" resulted in an increasing of brand awareness.<ref name="Luther2001">{{cite book| first= William M.| last= Luther| title=The Marketing Plan: How to Prepare and Implement it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mX9sCsIqMf8C&pg=PA192|year=2001|publisher=[[AMACOM]]|isbn=978-0-8144-2615-9|page=192|edition=3rd|access-date=January 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627135131/http://books.google.com/books?id=mX9sCsIqMf8C&pg=PA192 |archive-date=June 27, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the confections in which the Red and Yellow characters run into [[Santa Claus]] on [[Christmas Eve]]. Similarly to competitor Hershey's [[Christmas Bells (advertisement)|own Christmas-themed commercial]]. The commercial proved immensely successful and has re-aired every December since, becoming their longest-running television commercial.
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In 2007, the company introduced a limited-edition raspberry flavor called "M&M's Razzberry Chocolate Candies".
Also in 2007, the company produced a 50-feet tall, smiling Lady Liberty M&M statue to kick off a campaign encouraging Americans to create their own M&M characters at mms.com. The website allows for people to log in, in order to create their own character from scratch, choosing features such as the color, shape, hair, and accessories.
In 2008, two limited-edition varieties of the confection were introduced, "Wildly Cherry" and, as a marketing tie-in with the film ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'', "Mint Crisp".
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About the time the pretzel variety came out, the wrapper designs in the United States were redone from the design used from 2004 to early 2010.<ref name="PretzelAnnouncement"/>
In 2012, two new dark chocolate flavors were released, Raspberry and Mint. Also that year, a white chocolate flavor was released for the Easter season. Onward from May 30, 2012, launching from [[Macau]] was planned. In 2012, the peanut variety was produced in the UK in a limited-edition "Red, White, and Blues only" package, in connection with the country's Diamond Jubilee and [[2012 Summer Olympics]]. The "M" remains white on the white candies. The commercial advertising for this promotional campaign had Yellow donning various outfits of British stereotypes to try to get into the limited-edition package. Similarly, to promote the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]] in the UK, the peanut variety would be produced in a package that contained only green, yellow, and blue confections, to reflect the colors of the flag of Brazil; these were dubbed as limited-edition "Brazilian M&
In 2013, the company launched the "Better with M" campaign that included cause-related marketing. The campaign worked with [[Habitat for Humanity]] and encouraged fans to use a Facebook app to volunteer at the various sites where the homes were being built.<ref name="csn">{{cite web|url=http://www.csnews.com/mm%E2%80%99s-launching-better-m-marketing-campaign?sort_by=search_api_relevance|title=M&M'S Launching 'Better With M' Marketing Campaign| website= csnews.com| access-date=March 22, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170510214401/http://www.csnews.com/mm%E2%80%99s-launching-better-m-marketing-campaign?sort_by=search_api_relevance|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The advertising campaign was one of the largest that Mars had ever executed.<ref name="csn"/> The 2013 "America Better With M" initiative sought to provide money directly to Habitat for Humanity through offering limited versions of the candy in red, white, and blue.
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== M&M characters ==
[[File:M&M spokescandies.jpeg|thumb|500px|The seven [[cartoon]] "[[Spokesperson|spokescandies]]" in marketing since 2022]]
Early black-and-white ads for the
The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign that had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&M candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by [[Blue Sky Studios]]. Concurrent with the 1995 blue M&M campaign, the company introduced a second set of computer-animated [[Mascot|"spokescandies"]] in their [[television commercial]]s. The depiction and campaign of the M&Ms were made by [[Will Vinton]] in 1995. Vinton previously created the [[Clay animation|clay-animated]] [[The California Raisins|California Raisins]] in 1986. Around the time he worked on CGI projects, he made the depiction of the M&M characters as more mature than most food mascots. These include the team of the [[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynical]] and [[Sarcasm|sardonic]] Red (originally voiced by [[Jon Lovitz]], thereafter [[Billy West]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/commercials/MMs/Red/ |title=Behind The Voice Actors M&M's – Voice of Red |publisher=Behind the Voice Actors |access-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114062243/http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/commercials/MMs/Red/ |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> who is the voice of the mascots for [[milk chocolate]], [[peanut butter]], and crispy. The happy and [[Gullibility|gullible]] Yellow (originally voiced by [[John Goodman]], thereafter was voiced by [[J. K. Simmons]]), who is the mascot for Peanut and originally was known as "Peanut" when that variety was first introduced. Other mascots include the "cool one", Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/56353136|title=Behind the Bowl with Robb Pruitt|via=Vimeo|access-date=March 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/commercials/MMs/|title=M&M's|website=Behind The Voice Actors|access-date=March 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044223/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/commercials/MMs/|archive-date=March 6, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> who is the mascot for [[Almond]] M&M's; the [[Sexual attraction|seductive]] Green (her personality is a reference to the 1970s [[urban legend]] that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs)<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/green-mms-aphrodisiacs/ Green M&Ms as Aphrodisiacs] in snopes.com</ref> (voiced by [[Cree Summer]]; Larissa Murray),<ref name=":0" /> who is the mascot for both [[Mint chocolate|Dark Chocolate Mint]] and [[Peanut Butter]], and the slightly [[Neurosis|neurotic]] Orange (voiced by Eric Kirchberger), who was introduced when the Crispy variety was first released and is currently the mascot Pretzel that debuted in 2010. As the mascot of Pretzel, Orange was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who "supports" the character and offers helpful advice who hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.
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[[File:M & Ms (3685102458).jpg|thumb|300px|Transparent chutes hold M&Ms of various colors]]
In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&Ms<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/|title=The Story of M&M's Brand|access-date=June 14, 2008|work=mms.com|publisher=[[Mars, Incorporated]]|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409043530/http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/ |archive-date = April 9, 2008}}</ref> because of health concerns over the dye [[Amaranth (dye)|amaranth]] ([[FD&C]] Red #2) that was a suspected [[carcinogen]] and they introduced the orange variety. Despite the fact that M&Ms never had contained the dye, this action
|title=The man who brought red M&M's back to life
|first=Jim
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