Creating a Purpose for M&M’S
I helped lead the global transformation of the M&M’S brand to become a more purposeful company. After 80 years of just “being about fun for fun’s sake,” we worked closely with the brand to create a north star that gave their “fun” meaning and purpose:
to identify moments, spaces, or places
where people don’t feel included and use
fun to help include them, so they ultimately
feel a sense of belonging.
We updated the character’s looks and
personalities to make them more inclusive.
We wanted people to relate to the characters and
see themselves in them and not be specific to
gender stereotypes. That upset Tucker Carlson
on Fox News.
We created the brand’s first purpose-led platform
For All Funkind:
A movement to remind people everywhere that,
despite our differences, we all belong to a community
of humans that share one simple and powerful thing
in common: fun.
“M&M’S will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous. Until the moment you wouldn’t want to have a drink with any of them. That’s the goal. When you’re totally turned off, we’ve achieved equity…”
Then the purpose started showing up in the work
We saw an opportunity in Germany to help make the German comedy scene more diverse and more inclusive. Only 10% of well-known German comedians are women. And there is a severe lack of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC representation in German comedy as well.
