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In the world of chocolate advertising, there’s a lot of rainbow diversity to be seen: sometimes pinkwashing, sometimes shocking (at least to some), and sometimes very original. And these advertisements often target young people, so they’re being scrutinized extra critically.

Tony Chocolonely

I’ll start close to home, the Netherlands: Tony’s Chocolonely released a “gay bar” for Pride in 2017 and 2018. A nice find, but when a critical consumer asked what they were doing for the LGBT+ community, they admitted, after a bit of a detour, that their main focus was on “slave-free” chocolate. A classic case of pinkwashing. They apologized profusely and promised to do better, and “have internal discussions and consult with a number of concerned Twitter users.” But nothing more has been heard from them on this matter in the Netherlands since then. In their “FAIR report,” they do emphasize that inclusivity is present throughout their entire supply chain, not just in a rainbow wrapper.

In the US, there was a collaboration with HeadCount last year, where they created personalized wrappers for Pride festivals to motivate young people to vote. The six-colored rainbow package they offer on their website (6 is the number of the LGBTQ+ rainbow, but in slightly different colors) does not refer to Marketing the Rainbow.

Mondelēz

Market leader Mondelēz has used the rainbow for various brands, sometimes subtly, but also quite frankly. The most striking ad was for the legendary Cadbury’s Cream Egg. It features two men, among many other connoisseurs, eating an egg together, à la Lady & The Tramp spaghetti, remember?

This sparked an uproar. A petition was launched, garnering over 30,000 signatures, calling on the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) to ban the ad, because it “causes unnecessary offense” to members of the Christian community and “sells sex to children.” The ASA rejected the request. Cadbury responded that it “has always been a progressive brand that conveys a message of inclusivity, both through its products and brand campaigns.”

On my YouTube channel, which serves as an “archive” for 3,000 videos, the clip was viewed 267,000 times (ranked 5th) and garnered nearly 2,400 comments, making it the top scorer. Note: Mondelēz also contributed to the rainbow trend for Oreo, Honey Maid en Ritz. But that’s not chocolate.

Mars

FMCG giant Mars made waves with several brands.

Twix

First, with a controversial video: not an ad, but an episode of Hulu’s “Bite Size Halloween” series on TikTok. It was created by 18 young queer filmmakers and sponsored by Twix, Skittles, and Snickers. The New Nanny has been Twixed. In short: a boy likes to wear a princess dress, the new nanny “chases off” a bully.

All of conservative America went into meltdown because—apart from that inappropriate costume (“that’s how you turn kids gay!”)—the video supposedly condoned the disappearance of bullies. Over 100,000 views and 1,250 comments put this video in my top 10: very tiring to moderate all of this, but ultimately a storm in a teacup.

M&M’s

The ultimate diversity? When Mars announced in 2022 that the M&M’s would have “more nuanced personalities to emphasize the importance of self-expression and the power of community through storytelling,” the internet erupted in laughter.

For example, the green M&M would now wear sneakers “to reflect her effortless confidence,” and the brown M&M would now wear sensible kitten heels instead of her previous high heels. Green and Brown have previously been depicted as a lesbian couple.

Red was supposed to be less bossy, and Orange was supposed to “acknowledge his fear.” Someone remarked: “Finally, an M&M with mental health issues.”

They also introduced their first new character in ten years: Purple. This was the third female member of the M&M’s team, joining Green and Brown, and the first female peanut M&M. Because it’s a peanut, the candy was also considered “oversized” to symbolize body positivity—a bit paradoxical for a candy, isn’t it?

The message was conveyed in For All Funkind, and the change was implemented in I’m Just Gonna Be Me, a rather contrived mini-musical. It features four human performers: saxophonist Grace Kelly, dancers Devin Santiago and Colo Cag, and opera singer Anthony Roth Costanzo. The three male characters are quite flamboyant. M&M’s also used popular gay actor Dan Levy as a spokesperson in various campaigns:

Over the years, the candy has sponsored Pride events in various countries.

Snickers

This bar has been a direct hit on several occasions. In the famous Diva Series (featuring gay icons  Betty White, Liza Minelli, Joan Collins and Elton John, among others), a sissy gay influencer was transformed into a bearded man with a low voice: “better”? Even the Minister of Equality was involved, and the clip was hastily withdrawn with a thousand apologies. Snickers had previously been forced to remove the homophobic “Love Boat” ad from its American website.

Yet they’ve also done some genuine rainbow marketing here and there, especially in Australia.

Note: Not chocolate either, but worth mentioning is Skittles, the multi-colored candy that’s a staple in every American household. Their slogan has been “Taste the Rainbow” since 1994. For years, they’ve been releasing a colorless package for Pride, explaining: “Only one Rainbow matters during Pride”.

General Mills, Hersey

Highlighting transgender people in advertising is guaranteed to cause a stir, especially in the US. Even when it’s an ad in Canada. The hashtag #BoycottHershey’s trended on Twitter in early March 2023 after the chocolate giant featured a transgender woman in an ad campaign for International Women’s Day in Canada. The SHE bar was intended to “celebrate the women and girls who inspire us every day”: Her for She. A nice play on the brand name.

They previously featured a gay couple in the series “A Hershey’s Kisses Family,” and Reese’s celebrated the introduction of same-sex marriage in 2015.

Conclusion: the FMCG sector is an active participant in Marketing the Rainbow. This is partly thanks to that “F”: everything is over quickly. Next!

Earlier installments in this series were: Oldest, Dutch, Chinese, Belgian,and German rainbows.