MMs Logo PNG
The modern M&M logo, the most famous candy brand, reflects the founders’ names and the material used in production. The simplicity and straightforwardness of today’s emblem have ensured the product’s visual appeal and recognizability.
M&M is a well-known chocolate candy brand produced by Mars. The brand is renowned for its entertaining advertising campaigns and vibrant candies, available in two varieties: with peanuts and without.
M&M’s originated during the Spanish Civil War, when Forrest Mars Sr. observed soldiers eating chocolate that didn’t melt easily. In 1941, he teamed up with Bruce Murrie from Hershey’s to create a unique chocolate candy that stayed solid in your hand. They named it M&M’s, after their last names.
By 1954, M&M was getting even better. It introduced peanuts into its chocolates and came up with the catchy slogan “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” This made it even more loved by chocolate fans everywhere.
In the 1960s, M&M’s reached new heights as the first candy to travel to space with NASA, giving astronauts a taste of home. However, a hiccup occurred in 1976 when red M&M’s were pulled from shelves due to concerns about a certain dye, but they returned in 1987, reintroducing the full range of colors.
Over the years, M&M kept things exciting by adding new flavors like peanut butter and crispy, as well as mini versions of the candies. In 1995, they went digital by launching their website, becoming one of the first candy brands to do so.
The brand came to life with colorful characters like Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Orange, making it even more memorable.
The 2010s were all about innovation, with new flavors like Pretzel M&M’s and collaborations with other big brands. In the 2020s, M&M’s celebrated its 80th anniversary by introducing lower-sugar and vegan options, keeping up with what people want.
For nearly 80 years, M&M’s has been evolving, bringing new flavors and joy to people across generations.
Meaning and History
The packaging was introduced in 1941. The M&M logo has always been a wordmark with no additional symbols. The only differences have been the font and color palette.
What is M&M’s?
M&M’s is a brand of multicolored, round candies with a hard shell and a white letter “M” on them. It belongs to the American company Mars, and its name stands for Mars & Murrie’s. The first pills of this brand appeared in 1941. The US Army purchased them so soldiers could carry chocolate that doesn’t melt in hot climates.
1941
1941 – 1954
The first M&M logo featured lowercase letters, a traditional serif font that was slightly narrower, and an elongated height. The letter “S” was smaller than the letter “M”. The original M&M logo used a monochromatic color palette.
1954 – 1971
The inscription was changed. The logo now features a hand-drawn, uneven-style font in yellow on a black background. This was the brightest M&M logo in the brand’s history.
1971 – 1988
In 1971, the logo’s color scheme changed from yellow to brown, and the letters were updated to a slightly different font. This corporate-style visual design remained in use for 17 years.
1988 – 2001
The M&M logo’s main colors are now dark brown and chocolate. The inscription has cleaner and bolder lines. This simple but powerful logo will stay with the brand for 13 years.
2001 – 2004
The 2001 redesign brought the M&M logo a new, brighter shade of brown. It now also features a white-brown outline, adding depth to the logo.
2004 – 2018
In 2004, the M&M logo was placed diagonally on the packaging in brown with a black shadow, adding dynamism and a modern look. The letters are set against a white background that mirrors the emblem’s contour.
2019 – 2022
The 2019 redesign returns the M&M logo to a flat two-dimensional form, again making dark brown the main color in the brand’s palette. The letters are still placed diagonally, but now look more minimalist and straightforward. However, in this case, simplicity is the key to beauty. The ampersand appears positioned above the letters and has a white outline.
2022 – today
In 2022, M&M’s underwent a rebranding effort with a new signature logo. This involved the American corporation Mars, which owns the chocolate dragées brand. The leaders hired the creative agency Jones Knowles Ritchie to make the design more recognizable, staying within the global concept.
As a result, the “M&M’s” inscription was aligned horizontally. This was the only change to the emblem, aside from the disappearance of the letter “R” in a circle (the registered trademark used to be above the letter “s”). The change in orientation in space emphasized the ampersand, symbolizing unity and linking the names of the company’s two founders: Mars and Murrie. Now, it represents the brand’s focus on uniting people.
The brand name is no longer displayed diagonally, but the logo remains dynamic. Structurally, it resembles the versions of 1986 and 1991, but now the ampersand is brought to the forefront and outlined in white, partially overlapping the two Ms. The brown letters have become lighter because the designers made the inscription more optimistic without using extraneous colors.
Font and Colors
The letter “M” on the candies and the M&M’s wordmark have the same wide rectangular serifs. Moreover, all “M”s appear lowercase, although they are uppercase. In this case, it is not a full-fledged font but a unique set of glyphs. Although the candy manufacturer recently introduced its corporate font, it doesn’t use it in the logo. Jones Knowles Ritchie created this eclectic emblem in 2022. The emblem’s design has remained relatively unchanged over the past few years. Both “M”s resemble glyphs from the Aachen SB-Medium font. As for “s,” the ampersand resembles the corresponding ITC Lubalin Graph Demi symbols.
All elements are brown, although M&M’s is considered the most colorful chocolate brand. The inscription’s color is associated with cocoa beans, from which the candies are made, because under the bright glaze coating, all dragées are the same brown. Wide white lines are used as contours.