Mars Wrigley, manufacturer of the popular M&M’s candies, has made changes to the appearance of the characters that appear in their ads.
The most notable is the substitution of high heels for sports shoes in one of its female characters , and the placement of one pair of lower heels on the other.
Speaking to CNN, Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley North America, said that the new look is designed so that the female characters are more “representative of consumers.” It’s “a subtle hint,” he said, “but it’s a hint that people really get.”
The male characters also have minor footwear changes, including new shoelaces. These changes have already gone live online; the packaging of the M&M’s will be updated later this year, according to the report.
Vincent also addressed the gender imbalance in the line of chocolate characters where there are two female and four male characters.
Adding two new female characters is more problematic because means adding two permanent colors to your mix. Instead, the company said that it will give its female characters a more prominent place in ads to give “a little more gender balance.” .
Sales of high-heeled shoes decreased
The changes in the footwear of the female characters of the chocolate brand reflect broader social changes.
Sales of high heels have been declining at a rapid rate, even before the pandemic, as women increasingly prefer more comfortable styles, such as sneakers.
In the second trimester of 2021, sales of high-heeled shoes fell by 71%, according to the firm research NPD Group.
Some have speculated that an earlier drop in high heel sales was related to the #MeToo movement and allegations of sexual harassment, as women choose to dress more comfortable rather than sexually attractive to men.
Even so, the change towards more casual dress and the work-from-home culture has only exacerbated this trend.
A study by the market research firm NPD Group, which tracks footwear brands, showed Crocs as the only brand that increased sales by 14% in March 2020 according to The Wall Street Journal, in addition, the search that consumers made on Google for rubber shoes has reached a peak in recent years 15 years.
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