M&M's: Difference between revisions

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'''M&M's''' are [[dragée]]-like ''"colorful button-shaped candies"''<ref name="usat03"/> produced by [[Mars, Incorporated]]. The [[Sugar panning|candy shells]], each of which has the letter "m" printed in [[lower case]] on one side, surround a variety of fillings, including [[milk chocolate]], [[dark chocolate]], [[crisped rice]], [[mint chocolate]], [[peanut]]s, [[almond]]s, [[orange chocolate]], [[coconut]], and [[peanut butter]]. M&M's originated in the [[United States]] in 1941, and are now sold in over 100 countries.<ref name="usat03"/> They are produced in different colors, some of which have [[#Color changes in chocolate M&M's|changed over the years]]. The difference between the different colored M&Ms is the dye added to the outer coating, which does not actually affect the taste.

==History==

===1940s===

[[Forrest Mars, Sr.]] founder of the Mars Company, got the idea for the confection in the 1930s during the [[Spanish Civil War]] when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, preventing the candies from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 [[Badger Avenue]] in [[Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey]]. One M was for Forrest E. Mars Sr., and one for William F. R. Murrie, President of Hershey's Chocolate .<ref>[http://www.hersheyarchives.org/Pub/UserMedia/MURRIE.pdf WILLIAM F. R. MURRIE, PRESIDENT OF THE HERSHEY CHOCOLATE] - hersheyarchives.com - Retrieved August 26 , 2008]{{Dead link|date=January 2010}}</ref> Murrie had 20 percent interest in the product. The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate which had control of the [[ration]]ed chocolate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mars.html |title=Inventor of the Week: Archive |publisher=Web.mit.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref> When operations were started, the hard-coated chocolates were made in five colors: red, yellow, brown, green, and violet. They were served in a cardboard tube (similar to [[Smarties]]).<ref name="virtualnewarknj.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |title=Looking Back at Newark Origins of World-Famous M&M Chocolates - virtualnewarknj.com - Retrieved August 28, 2008 |publisher=virtualnewarknj.com |date=1981-04-12 |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref><ref name="cnn0620">{{cite news|title=M&M lovers pick purple|url=http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/20/news/companies/mandms/|work=[[CNNMoney.com]]|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=2002-06-20|accessdate=2008-06-14 }}</ref>

The practicality of the candies during [[World War II]] caused an increase in production and its factory moved to bigger quarters at 200 North 12th Street in [[Newark, New Jersey]] where they remained until 1958 when it moved to a bigger factory at [[Hackettstown, New Jersey]]. During the War the candies were exclusively sold to the military.<ref name="virtualnewarknj.com"/>

In 1948, the cardboard packaging was replaced by the black [[cellophane]] packaging. In the same year Mars bought out Murrie's 20 percent stake.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

[[File:M&m2.jpg|thumb|Peanut M&M's, introduced in 1954.]]

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===1970s and 1980s===

Red candies were eliminated in 1976<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/|title=The Story of M&M'S Brand|accessdate=2008-06-14|work=mms.com|publisher=[[Mars, Incorporated]]}}</ref> due to health concerns over the dye [[amaranth (dye)|amaranth]] ([[FD&C]] Red #2), which was a suspected [[carcinogen]], and were replaced with orange-colored candies. (this This was done despite the fact that M&M's did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers. Red candies were reintroduced later, but they also kept the orange colored M&M's. They currently contain [[Allura Red AC]] (FD&C Red #40, E129). In Europe, [[Allura Red AC]] (E129) is not recommended for consumption by children. It is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Norway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukfoodguide.net/e129.htm|title=E129 Allura Red AC, FD&C Red 40|accessdate=2008-06-14}}</ref> Instead, [[Cochineal dye|Cochineal]] (E120) is used in the red shells.

Although they were marketed and then withdrawn in the 1960s, in 1988, Almond-centered M&M's hit stores again in limited release, with appearances only during [[Christmas]] and [[Easter]] times.; Theseit candiesbecame area muchstandard like the peanut variety, but with an almond insteadpart of a peanut inside the candy. Due to rising popularity, Mars gave them fullproduct releasesline in 1992.

===1990s===

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In 1995, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M's. Blue was the winner, replacing tan in early 1995. Consumers could vote by calling 1-800-FUN-COLOR. (The introduction of blue M&M's to Australia in 1997 was controversially promoted by the [[Carlton Football Club]] of the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) who, for one game, swapped their trademark dark blue [[guernsey (clothing)#Use in Australian rules football|guernseys]] for pale blue guernseys—their first change since the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afl.com.au/The%20Clubs/tabid/10297/default.aspx |title=The Clubs |publisher=AFL.com.au |date= |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref>)

[[File:M&M's spokecandies.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Red and Yellow, two of M&M's "spokecandies".]]

[[File:Blue M spokecandy.jpg|200px|right|thumb|The Blue "spokecandy".]]

Concurrent with the Blue M&M campaign, M&M's replaced their earlier kid-friendly and generic animated characters withintroduced computer animated [[mascot|"spokescandies"]] in their [[commercialstelevision commercial]]s. These include the team of the [[cynicism|cynical]] and [[sarcasm|sardonic]] "[[Red]]" (originally voiced by [[Jon Lovitz]], thereafter [[Billy West (voice actor)|Billy West]]), who is the mascot for milk chocolate M&M's, and the [[happiness|happy]] and [[humor|gullible]] "[[Yellow]]" (originally [[John Goodman]], thereafter [[J.K. Simmons]]), who is the mascot for peanut M&M's. Other mascots include the "cool one", Blue (originally [[Phil Hartman]], thereafter Robb Pruitt) for almond; the [[Sexual attraction|seductive]] Green ([[Cree Summer]]) for peanut butter, mint, and dark chocolate (Green is the only female M&M's mascot);<ref>This is likely a reference to the popular [[urban legend]] that green M&M's are supposedly an [[aphrodisiac]].</ref> and the slightly [[neurosis|neurotic]] Orange (Eric Kirchberger) for other types of M&M's in general, who was initially not named after his color (for a time when he was introduced, he was known as Crispy due to his being a mascot for the now-discontinued Crispy M&M's, which debuted around the same time). Although brown M&Ms have been around since the beginning of the candy, no brown M&M "spokescandy" was included.

In 1996, Mars introduced a new M&M's candy: the "M&M's Minis"., Thesesmaller candies are very small and are usually sold in small plastic tubes instead of bags.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} A video game, ''[[M&M's: The Lost Formulas]]'', was also eventually released, based on this candy.

Despite the brown color being around since the beginning of the candy, there is no brown M&M spokescandy.

In 1999, Crispy M&M's were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and featured a crispy rice center. They were discontinued in the United States in 2005, though they brought in more profit than any other M&M variety.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} They are still available in Europe, Australia, and southeast Asia.

In 1996, Mars introduced a new M&M's candy: the "M&M's Minis". These candies are very small and are usually sold in small plastic tubes instead of bags. A video game, ''[[M&M's: The Lost Formulas]]'', was also eventually released, based on this candy.

In 1999, Crispy M&M's were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and featured a crispy rice center. They were discontinued in the United States in 2005, though they brought in more profit than any other M&M variety. They are still available in Europe, Australia, and southeast Asia.

In 1990, an M&Ms exhibit at New York's Erie County Fair, promoting the company's nutrition awareness campaign, became the precursor to Cow Parade, the whimsical phenomenon where municipalities and museums display decorated cattle at convenient traffic intersections. The M&Ms display was 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. Candy the Cow was the first-ever decorated bovine, and earned M&M Mars $1 million in free publicity. The chocolate marvel, created by designer [[Michael Adams]]{{dn}},

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===2000–2005===

In 2000, "Plain" M&M's (a name introduced in 1954 when Peanut M&M's were introduced) were renamed "Milk Chocolate" M&M's, and pictures of the candy pieces were added to the traditional brown and white packaging.<ref> http://www.collectorcafe.com/article_archive.asp?article=10&id=1877</ref>

In July 2001, caramel-filled [[Dulce de Leche]] M&M's were introduced in 5five markets with large Hispanic populations: [[Los Angeles, CA]], [[San Diego, CA]], [[Miami, FL]], [[McAllen, Texas|Mcallen]]-[[Brownsville, TX]], and [[San Antonio, TX]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/food-beverage/food-industry-food-mfg-sugar/6097035-1.html |title=M&M/MARS Woos Latinos With New ``M&M's'&#39; Dulce de Leche-Caramel Chocolate Candies; New Flavor to Premiere in Markets With Highest Concentration of Latinos. &#124; Food & Beverage > Food Industry from |publisher=AllBusiness.com |date= |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref> The flavor never became popular with the Hispanic community, who preferred existing M&M's flavors, and it was discontinued in most areas by early 2003.<ref>[http://www.nuintelligence.net/Manager/anmviewer.asp?a=9 ]{{Dead link|date=January 2010}}</ref> The flavor was widely panned for containing 36 grams of fat per serving.<ref>{{cite web|author=DAILYCANDY.ads.hideBlank("#module-ad-sponsored-post"); |url=http://www.dailycandy.com/new_yorknew-york/article/17516/La+Dulce+Vita |title=Dulce de Leche M&M's &#124; New York |publisher=DailyCandy.com |date=2002-02-13 |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref>

In 2002, Mars solicited votes to add a new color from three choices: aqua, pink, and purple. This time, purple won and was featured for a limited time.<ref name="cnn0620"/>

Since 2005 M&M's have been available online in 17 colors, with personalized phrases on each candy on the opposite side from the "m".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mymms.com/|title=Custom Printed MY M&M'S|work=mms.com|publisher=[[Mars, Incorporated]]|accessdate=2008-06-14}}</ref> Released around Christmas, these custom-printed M&M's were originally intended for holiday greetings, but are now available all year round.

Also in 2004, My M&M's opened its web site doors <http://www.mymms.com>. People were able to personalize M&M's in 17 color options. In the time since, they have expanded the site to handle various customization and gifting options.16.86% of the world eats M&M's

In April 2005, M&M's ran the "mPire" promotion to tie in with the ''[[Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]]'' movie release. M&M's were offered in dark chocolate varieties (Regular and Peanut) for the first time.

In the summer of 2005, Mars added "Mega M&M's" to the lineup.<ref>{{cite news|title=M&M's get mega-sized|url=http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/04/news/funny/m_and_ms/|work=[[CNNMoney.com]]|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=2005-08-04|accessdate=2008-06-14 }}</ref> These candies are 55% larger than the traditional M&M's and are available in milk chocolate and peanut varieties. Most of the colors for Mega M&M's were also changed to less-bright colors — teal (replacing green), beige (orange), maroon (red), gold (yellow), blue-gray (blue), and brown — to appeal more to adults. In the fall of 2005, the mPire promotion ran again to coincide with the DVD release of the ''Star Wars'' movie.

Since 2005 M&M's have been available online in 17 colors, with personalized phrases on each candy on the opposite side from the "m".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mymms.com/|title=Custom Printed MY M&M'S|work=mms.com|publisher=[[Mars, Incorporated]]|accessdate=2008-06-14}}</ref> Released around Christmas, these custom-printed M&M's were originally intended for holiday greetings, but are now available all year round

===2006–present===

[[ImageFile:MandM Times Square.JPG|left|thumb|250px|Outside of the M&M store in [[Times Square]], [[New York City]].]]In July 2006, Dark Chocolate M&M's reappeared in a purple package, followed in 2007 by Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M's. Also in 2006, the company also piloted White Chocolate M&M's as a tie-in with their ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' promotion. The company also offered eight new flavors of M&M's via online sales, as well as at [[M&M's World]] locations: "All That Razz"; "Eat, Drink, & Be Cherry"; "A Day at the Peach"; "Orange-U-Glad"; "Mint Condition"; "AlmonDeeLicious"; "Nut What You Think" and "Cookie Minster". Mars also released a "Crispy Mint" variety in Australia that year.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

In 2007, M&M's introduced a limited-edition raspberry flavor called "M&M's Razzberry Chocolate Candies."{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

During the 2008 Valentine's Day season Mars introduced bags of all-green M&M's. This was due to common urban folklore that holds green M&M's to be an [[aphrodisiac]].<ref>{{cite news|title=M&M'S Chocolate Candies go green just in time for Valentine's Day|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/mars/31278/|publisher=PRNewswire|date=2008-01-16|accessdate=2008-08-14}}</ref> They were brought back for Valentine's Day 2009 alongside the "Ms. Green Heats Up Valentine's Day" contest.

In 2008, two new limited-edition varieties of the candy were introduced — "Wildly Cherry" M&M's, and, as a marketing tie-in with the film ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'', "Mint Crisp" M&M's.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

M&M's also introduced another new product called "M&M's Premiums" in 2008. They come in five flavors — chocolate almond, mint chocolate, mocha, raspberry almond and triple chocolate (milk, dark, and white chocolate), which are sold in small upright cartons with a plastic bag inside. M&M's Premiums do not have a candy shell, but are coated with carnauba wax and color. Dark Chocolate was added in 2009, replacing Mocha.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

During summer of 2008, My M&M's launched 'Faces,' which allows consumers to print the faces of loved ones on M&M's chocolate candies.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

In January 2009, three new "shimmering" colors were added to the list of custom printable colors. The colors in this collection have a [[pearlescent]] finish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mymms.com/25colors/|title=My M&M's -25 Custom Chocolate Candy Colors|accessdate=2009-06-24}}</ref> In February 2009, M&M's launched "M&M’S Color Break-Up" Promotion in Australia where colors were sold in separate packs (one for each color): the packs included a code to win prizes.<ref>{{cite news|title=M&M'S Color Break Up|url=http://www.colourbreakup.com.au/html/default.aspx| publisher=Mars |date=2009-02-18 | accessdate=2009-02-18 }}</ref>

In Summer 2009, M&M's launched a limited-edition "Strawberried Peanut Butter" variant to tie in with the release of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]''. In addition, M&M's launched a limited edition "Coconut M&M's."

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In July 2009, a study showed that a dye similar to that in blue M&M's showed benefits in helping paralyzed rats to walk again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2009/07/can-blue-mms-cure-paralysis.html |title=Julie's Health Club: Dye found in blue M&Ms may improve spinal injuries |publisher=Featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com |date=2009-07-28 |accessdate=2010-01-15}}</ref>

In April 2010, M&M's launched a new "pretzel variety."{{Citation Also,needed|date=May coconut M&M's returned no longer limited edition.2010}}

In early 2010, M&M's Bare All were released as part of a competition in Australia and New Zealand.<ref>http://m-msbareall.com.au/index.html</ref> M&M's Bare All winning packs were ordinary M&M's, but without shells (and hence had no colours). An official website, was launched [http://m-msbareall.com.au/index.html], was launched, along with television advertisements.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b1R0BEFc7w M&M's Bare All TV commercial] from [[YouTube]]</ref>

==Color changes in chocolate M&M's== <!-- change section ref in intro if section is renamed -->

The following is a summary of the changes to the colors of the flagship ([[milk chocolate]]) flavor of M&M's, brown, yellow, and green are the only colorsfilling manufactured continualy since the beginning of the brand. From 1941 until 1987, each package contained M&M's in five different colors; when red M&M's were reintroduced in 1987, they were added as a sixth color instead of replacing any of the existing colors.

<div class="center">

<timeline>

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==Related brands==

Related candy brands from Mars include [[Minstrels (chocolate)|Minstrels]], [[Revels (confectionery)|Revels]], [[Skittles (confectionery)|Skittles]], and [[Treets]]; similar products from other companies include [[Smarties]] and two products from [[The Hershey Company]], [[Reese's Pieces]]. Also similar areand [[Hershey-ets, which at one time even had an "H" printed on the candy shell]].

[[M&M's World]] specialty shops have been established in some locations. Several [[M&M's video games|M&Ms-themed]] video games have been created.

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{{Commons category|M&M's}}

*[http://www.mms.com/ Official website]

*[http://us.mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/ The History of M&M's Chocolates] from us.mms.com

*[http://www.mymms.com/ Personalized M&M's] arefrom available only online http://www.mymms.com

{{Mars brands}}