M&M's Shoes

Sally: Phil M&Ms have a new look. The company feels like they wanted to create something that is more inclusive. And with particular emphasis on the two women characters, the green M&M in the go-go boots and the brown M&M and the stiletto heels, they have, changed their shoes to make these women less sexy and more empowered, strong women. They've also improved their relationship. So they're not throwing shade at each other and they're actually friends and not competing with each other. We're also seeing in the red M&M and this one was actually the most interesting to me or, sorry, I'm sorry. The orange M&M, which is the most interesting to me and who typically has this anxious personality, they want to show that this M&M embraces his true self worries. And what's really interesting to me about out this is that, they're saying that this is one of the most relatable characters with Gen Z, which is the most anxious generation.

Phil: So, I happen to love M&Ms. I am a red M&M person. I will pick out those red ones and probably green after that,

Sally: The red one, by the way, is no longer a bully .

Phil: So what are you telling me? 

Sally: He's nicer.

Phil: So I think that this is totally absurd. I think that their PR company is doing a great job. Obviously, we're talking about it. A lot of people are talking about it. In fact, Tucker Carlson actually talked about it on his show. He's complaining that the M&MS removed the stiletto heels of characters and their TV ads. The characters are now totally androgynous, he says, and you wouldn't wanna have a drink with any of them. Hey, Carlson, I've never wanted to have a drink with an M&M maybe, maybe you have, but not me, but I think that this is at most pandering. I don't know if this is more inclusive. I think that, you know, having an M&M who wears,high heels and then putting them in, you know, flat shoes to me is absolutely absurd. I think it's making a mockery of the real issues that we have about inclusivity. This is not about an M&M, and I don't think that their TV commercials are educating kids to what they should do. I don't know. I just sort of like think it's absurd, but talking about the absurd I wanna share with you, a cartoon, a great cartoon that I saw in the New Yorker magazine, all about macaroni and cheese. And, I actually can't read it. I don't know if, if you can read it on your screen, but for those of you that are New Yorker cartoon buffs, check it out. It's in the current New Yorker. I think it's got four pains to it, and it talks about macaroni and cheese and what's the good macaroni and cheese. And the good news is for me, 2022 is all about food. We're hearing more about food than ever before. Not only from the sustainability standpoint, but also just from our love of food. So let's celebrate food, whether it's in the New Yorker, whether it's in the M&M cartoons, but let's not get carried away. It's still food, and M&MS are a fun food. And when you start making that fun food a little less fun, I'm not sure that I'm gonna continue to eat my M&M’s. What about you? 

Sally: Well, I agree with you on that, that tmaking something so serious and not a lot of fun, but I do see this marketing to gen Z, because I have a gen Z child and they are very socially conscious and they are expecting the world to listen to them.

Phil: So would they take heed to an M&M TV, commercial? And do they even eat M&MS?

Sally: They definitely eat M&Ms. And I don't know how much, how many commercials they're seeing about M&MS? I mean, my, my son who is Gen Z has never actually talked to me about an M&M commercial, or I haven't heard of this, this issue coming up, but I do know that he is very careful about being sensitive to gender identity. And these are issues that kids that age really care about. 

Phil: Okay. So maybe they're seeing something that, frankly I'm not, oh, well