We never quite know what we're going to end up writing about on any given day here at Creative Bloq. Every morning we pour a coffee, log on and take a look at what in the world of art and design has got the internet talking. Could we have guessed that today's fierce discourse would concern the reverse-sexualisation of the shoes worn by an anthropomorphized green candy-coated chocolate? We could not.
Anyway, Mars Wrigley has revealed that its M&M characters have been redesigned to be "more inclusive", with all six receiving tweaks to their appearance and personality. But there's one particular aspect of the character design update that's caused the internet to collectively kick off. The Green M&M's shoes.
(Image credit: Mars Wrigley)
Gone are the green M&M's signature high-heeled boots, along with her lip gloss and long lashes. The shoes have been replaced with what one Twitter user calls "old maiden, 40-50-year-old auntie sneakers" in a process that many are calling "reverse-yassification" (no idea what we're talking about? Read about yassification at your peril). In short, the green M&M has been de-sexualised, and people are having none of it.
People are really, really angry about this (Image credit: Mars Wrigley/Future owns)
In a press release, Mars Wrigley claims that the update (which also includes the orange M&M being open about his anxiety) is designed to be "more inclusive, welcoming, and unifying" within a "more dynamic, progressive world." But as was the case with Space Jam's new Lola Bunny design, many feel that the "erasure" of a sex-positive icon is anything but progressive.
what they're doing to the green m&m is slut erasure. despicableJanuary 20, 2022
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why did they reverse yassify the green m&m … pic.twitter.com/AnOBpXsTqMJanuary 20, 2022
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Dying. Absolutely dying that executives at Mars genuinely met and were like “the green m&m looks too slutty in those boots”January 21, 2022
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Did my shoes really break the internet? pic.twitter.com/ZaisgZ9QYZJanuary 20, 2022
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Indeed, Friday 21 January 2022 will forever be remembered as the day that all the internet could talk about was the green M&M's boots. When words like "despicable," "woke," and "yass-denied" were thrown around, and headlines like Let the Green M&M Be a Nasty Little Slut were published.
Still, only a few weeks into 2022, this is by no means the first rebrand to upset the internet – just yesterday, Coca-Cola revealed its disastrous new packaging design. But we have a feeling that come December, Green M&M-gate will be remembered as one of the most furious debates of the year.
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Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
