M&M's are small, milk chocolate candy pieces popular in the United States and in many other countries around the world. They are produced by Mars Incorporated. M&M's have recognizable "spokescandies" which appear in comical commercials; the most popular of these are the team of cynical and sardonic "Red", who is the mascot for plain M&M's and happy and gullible "Yellow", who is the mascot for peanut M&M's. Other mascots include Blue for almond, Green for peanut butter, the only female mascot for M&M's, and Crispy for "Crispy M&M's," who is the only mascot not to be named after its color. These are voiced by Billy West, J.K. Simmons, Robb Pruitt, Cree Summer, and Eric Kirchberger respectively.
M&M's were created in 1940 after Forrest Mars Sr. saw Spanish soldiers eating chocolate pellets coated in sugar during the Spanish Civil War. M&M's were first sold in the United States in 1941. By World War II, American soldiers were given the candy by the United States Army; soon after this it was marketed to the public. The candies were named for "Mars & Murrie" (Mars' business partner was Bruce Murrie, son of rival Milton S. Hershey's partner William Murrie.) M&M's soon became a hit because, in those times when air conditioning was not usually found in stores, homes, or the automobile, melting chocolate candy bars were a problem; but in M&M's, the candy's coating kept the chocolate from getting messy.
In 1954, Peanut Chocolate Candies were introduced, while the M&M's brand characters and the famous slogan "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" were both trademarked.
The candies were originally made in six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and violet. (Peanut candies were made in the same colors, except violet.) Red was eliminated from the mix in the 1970s because of health concerns about the red dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2). Despite the fact that M&M's did not contain the dye, red M&M's were removed from the mix to satisfy worried consumers. By 1987, the public had forgotten the scare, and the red candies were reintroduced. They currently contain Allura red AC (FD&C Red #40). Violet was also taken out of the mixture and was replaced by tan in 1949, but tan wasn't quite as popular and was later replaced by blue in 1995.
In 1988, "Almond M&M's" hit stores with limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times. These candies are much like the peanut variety, but with an almond instead of a peanut inside the candy. Due to rising popularity, Mars gave them full releases in 1992.
In 1990, "Peanut Butter M&M's" were released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate center and the same color scheme as the other brands.
In the United Kingdom Peanut M&M's were known as Treets until 1990. Additionally, Toffee Treets were also available for some time. The chocolate versions were not introduced until the brand became M&M's. This was partly to do with the market dominance of the similar candy Nestlé Smarties which made competing under anything but a very high profile brand difficult, with the added risk of reducing sales of the existing Treets brand. Though Treets used the same "melt in your mouth not in your hand" slogan in the UK in the 1970s, this was transferred to Minstrels when the Treets brand was dropped.
In 1993, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would be introduced. Blue was the winner, and was added in early 1995. The tan candies were eliminated at this time.
Around the same time, novelty M&M's were available in specialty stores, such as F.A.O. Schwarz, in 24 different colors.
In 1996, Mars introduced a new M&M candy: the "M&M's Minis." These candies are very small and are sold in small plastic tubes instead of bags. A video game, M&M's Minis Madness, was also eventually released, based on this candy.
In 1998, the "Crispy M&M's" were released. These are slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and feature a crispy rice center.
In 2003, Mars ran another vote to add a new color from 3 choices. Once again, the general public were the voters. The 3 choices were turquoise, pink and purple. This time, purple won.
In June 2004, M&M's gained unexpected fame as Mike Melvill, the pilot of SpaceShipOne the world's first manned private suborbital space flight, opened up a package of the chocolate brand when he reached the border of space (100km) in order to demonstrate weightlessness as the candy floated in the cabin.
In the summer of 2005, Mars added "Mega M&M's" to the lineup. These candies are 55% larger than the traditional M&M's and are available in milk chocolate and peanut varieties. The colors were also changed to less-bright colors (teal, beige, maroon, gold, brown and blue-gray) to appeal more to adults.
The most popular (and the most common) M&M's are plain (milk chocolate) and peanut (with a layer of chocolate between the peanut and the candy shell). Several variations exist other than those mentioned, but are harder to find: mint chocolate, dulce de leche, toffee, white chocolate (with and without peanuts), and dark chocolate.
Peanut M&Ms generally sell better in bulk vending machines than their plain counterparts.
Advertising
Steven Spielberg originally approached Mars with the idea of product placement of M&M's in his upcoming movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Mars declined the offer. Spielberg later approached the Hershey Chocolate Company with the idea to use Reese's Pieces instead. They agreed, and their sales tripled a week after the movie premiered.
One of the commercials for the "Help the M&Ms Find their Colors" contest used elements from The Wizard of Oz, with someone impersonating Judy Garland's voice, with her mouth timed almost exactly to her lines.
The hard rock band Van Halen's now infamous contract rider called for, among other things, a bowl of M&M's backstage, but with provision that all the brown candies must be removed. According to snopes.com, "The M&M's provision was included in Van Halen's contracts not as an act of caprice, but because it served a practical purpose: to provide an easy way of determining whether the technical specifications of the contract had been thoroughly read (and complied with)."
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler currently has a sponsorship with Mars. His racecar is decorated with pictures of M&M's.
In 1997, Mars began a "Find the Gray Imposter M&M game" in which a customer that found a gray M&M in his or her package would be offered a cash prize of one million dollars (fifty thousand in the UK). Attorney Aron Robinson filed suit against the corporation, charging that the game confused customers that found uncoated candies that looked gray. The suit was dismissed.[1]
In early 2005, M&M's released "limited edition" Star Wars-themed candies, tied to the opening of the Revenge of the Sith in May 2005. The limited-edition candies included a Darth Vader dark chocolate variety.
Will & Grace star Megan Mullally starred (and sung) in TV ads for M&M's in 2004 and 2005.
Iron & Wine's cover of "Such Great Hights" was featured on an ad for M&M's in [[2005].