M & M Candies - Computer-generated characters shaped like M & M candies featured in a series of successful 1990s commercials created by BBDO ad agency and animator Will Vinton, the progenitor of the California Raisins. The commercials featured four M&M candies personalities (Yellow, Red, Lime-Green and Blue) interacting with such human characters as Bebe Neuwirth, Tia Carrera, and Dennis Miller. The M&M company slogan is "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" (referring to their sugar-coated shell designed to resist the immediate heat of the hand). Debuting in 1941, the M&M chocolate candies were named for its developers, Forrest Mars and Bruce Murries. Urban myths have arisen about the sweet little candy treats.

According to U.S. News & World Report (3/24/97) "The green ones are widely considered aphrodisiacs and orange ones are thought to augment breast size. The brown ones were written into Van Halen's standard contract-if the rockers spotted them anywhere in the venue, the show was off." The most popular color still is red despite that fact that a red dye No. 2 scare in 1976 (a dye reported to be carcinogenic) took red M&M's off the market for a time (reintroduced in 1987). The M&M's company currently chooses from a palette of twenty-four colors to paint their delicious candy bits.

In 1997 M&M's ran a "Find the Impostor" campaign with a poster saying "Wanted for Attempted Fraud" Gray #120662; Alias: Impostor "M&M's"; Height: 0.6 inches tall; Weight: 0.9 grams; Distinguishing Characteristics: Round male. Known to wear gray coat with no apparent "M" on it; Last Seen: Sneaking into bags of "M&M's Chocolate Candies; Offenses: Defamation of the "M&M's characters. Killing the life of a party. Suspected of boring people to death; Reward: Up to $1,000,000. If apprehended, present winning game piece on the bag.

TRIVIA NOTE: Quote from THE SIMPSONS [Homer] "So, I says, blue M&M, red M&M, they all wind up the same color in the end."