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| Send a friendly greeting |
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| Discover the candies that started it all. |
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| The world's favourite chocolate candies have a story all their own. |
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Who would have guessed that the idea for "M&M's"® Chocolate was born in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Legend has it that on a trip to Spain, Forrest Mars Sr. encountered soldiers who were eating pellets of chocolate that were encased in a hard sugary coating to prevent them from melting. Inspired by this idea, Mr. Mars went back to his kitchen and invented the recipe for "M&M's"® Chocolate.
First sold to the public in 1941, "M&M's"® Chocolate became a favourite of American GIs serving in World War II. Packaged in cardboard tubes, "M&M's"® Chocolate were sold to the military as a convenient snack that travelled well in any climate. By the late 1940s, they became widely available to the public, who gave them an excellent reception. In 1948, the packaging changed from a tube form to the characteristic brown pouch known today. |
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As America entered the 1950s, "M&M's"® Chocolate were becoming a household word, particularly with the growth of television. In 1954, "M&M's"® Peanut were introduced to the brand's portfolio, and the sales of both varieties continued to grow. That same year, the universally loved "M&M's"® Brand Characters and the famous slogan, "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand,"® debuted in the brand's initial TV advertising.
In 1960, "M&M's"® Peanut added three new colours to the mix: red, green and yellow were added to the original brown colour. In 1972, the first appearance of the "M&M's"® Brand Characters on packaging reinforced brand awareness, as the characters became increasingly known through print and TV advertising. In 1976, the colour orange was added to the "M&M's"® Peanut colour mix.
That same year, Red "M&M's"® Chocolate were removed from the traditional colour blend due to public controversy surrounding a specific red food colouring. This red colouring was not used in "M&M's"® Chocolate . However, in order to avoid consumer confusion the red candy was pulled from the colour mix. |
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| In 1981, "M&M's"® Chocolate were chosen by the first space shuttle astronauts to be included in their food supply. "M&M's"® are now on permanent display at the space food exhibit of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. A special holiday line of "M&M's"® products was launched in the early 80s. These new seasonal colour blends included red and green "M&M's"® Chocolate for Christmas and pastel colours for Easter. Also during the 1980s, the "M&M's"® Brand accelerated its international expansion, primarily entering European markets. |
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| 1987 was a very important year in the history of the "M&M's"® brand. Red was added back into the traditional colour blend as a result of overwhelming requests from consumers. |
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1996 will be remembered for many exciting brand events. The advertising campaign for the "M&M's"® Brand utilising the characters catapulted to the #1 position among more than 60 campaigns rated by USA Today. And the new characters became a hit with consumers, surpassing the popularity of Mickey Mouse or Bart Simpson. (Source: Marketing Evaluation, Inc.)
Also in 1996, the brand introduced "M&M's"® MINIs® in re-closable plastic tubes in six different colours. In another major breakthrough, the "M&M's"® Brand Characters went "Virtual Hollywood" across the Internet with the opening of the "M&M's"® Studios® (http://www.m-ms.com/). Visitors to the site found themselves within the star-studded, glamourous world of the "M&M's"® Brand spokescharacters. This parody of a Hollywood studio's Web site was as colourful as the "M&M's"® stars themselves. |
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The historical moment in 1997 was the debut of Green, the first female "M&M's"® Character. This multifaceted '90s woman and author starred in a number of popular commercials. Green toured the U.S. promoting her autobiography, "I Melt For No One," and she quickly achieved the celebrity status of her male colleagues - the Red, Yellow and Blue "M&M's"® Characters.
"M&M's"® Chocolate also charted new "chocolate" waters in late 1997 with the grand opening of "M&M's"® World — the brand's very own retail store on the Las Vegas, USA strip. This unique shopping experience features all the colour and fun of "M&M's"® Chocolate with one-of-a-kind branded merchandise ranging from T-shirts and designer jackets to designer dresses, jewellery and furniture.
In early 1998, the "M&M's"® Characters proclaimed themselves the "Official Spokescandies of the New Millennium." Since MM means 2000 in Roman numerals, the "M&M's"® Brand is the only candy that can make that connection. The Red and Yellow "M&M's"® Characters love to be in the limelight, and they decided to milk it for all it was worth by kicking off the Millennium celebration in 1998. And in November 1998, the "M&M's"® Characters starred the brand's first feature film when their new 3D movie attraction opened at the Las Vegas, USA "M&M's"® World store. |
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