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I’m both enjoying these M&M’s and suffering from an ethical dilemma. The problem with these M&M’s is that legally they are not M&M’s, they are in fact a candy coated chocolate that has possibly (since I’m not a lawyer) broken some trademark rules. Let me get one thing clear, as far as I know it is impossible to trademark a candy, and trademarking a candy type that has been around for a long time is even more unlikely. We can all agree that M&M’s is not the only candy coated chocolate treat out there, they may not even be the best. The thing about these is that they’ve blatantly used their name, and I’m willing to bet that the little character on the bottle is a little problematic.
I’ll be honest, I briefly thought about not reviewing this candy. I figured it was just way to sketchy to include on my list of treats. I changed my mind when I thought about the culture of trademark infringement, and how it shapes certain cultures. The other dilemma this particular candy presents is do I put it into the sub-category of M&M’s. Is a blatant copy of something, is it a version of that thing, or is it on its own. For now I’m going to include it with the other M&M’s, but if prompted I’ll consider changing that.
It’s funny, because the package has some obvious similarities to M&M’s, however the candy is actually pretty different. Visually there are many more/different colours available in these questionable M&M’s than the originals. I would say that the colour pallet is closer to that of British/Canadian Smarties. I would also say that the chocolate in the centre is closer to a British/Canadian Smarties too, but much lower quality. Compared to M&M’s I’d say that this chocolate is much creamier, but unlike any of the brand name candy coated chocolate candies the chocolate here is a musty.
I’ve reviewed many candies that were obviously inspired (one might say ripped off) from other more popular candies, but these might have gone a step too far. If anyone from Mars is reading this, I’m sure you will be calling your lawyers immediately. As far as would I suggest you buy these, the answer depends on why you want it. If you’re looking for a tasty treat, not really, if you’re looking for a fascinating piece of candy memorabilia, yes.
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