# M&Ms pushing their own Urban Legend **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 30, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770 "2001-06-30T21:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/1 "2001-06-30T21:08:43Z")
Many of us have heard the Urban Legend that green M&Ms are supposed to be aphrodesiacs. I remember when I was a kid (20-25 years ago), my slightly-younger brother called up the M&Ms company and them whether green M&Ms actually made you horny. The person who answered the phone said she’d never even _heard_ this rumor. I thought that would be the last I’d hear of it. But then, 10 or 15 years later, I saw an M&Ms commercial on TV featuring a kid who claimed that eating different colors of M&Ms would allow him to score hits in baseball. Yellow M&Ms were a double, orange M&Ms were a triple. With a sly grin, he added, “And with the green ones, I take the ball downtown!” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Hitting a “home run” with the **one** color of M&Ms that had been rumored to work as an aphrodesiac, eh? Well, several years later, a green computer-animated female M&M was conversing with Dennis Miller in another TV add. He asked, “So, is it true what I hear about the green ones?” The female green M&M got all ticked off, and screamed, “It’s a lie!!” When Dennis Miller coyly responded, “Okay! So you’re not lime, then?”, she answered, “‘Lime?!’ Hmph. Where do you get **your** gossip?” If **that** wasn’t a blatant reference to the green=ahprodesiac Urban Legend, I don’t know what was. I’m writing this because, just today, I saw a full-page M&M’s ad in TV guide. The caption read “What is it about the green ones?”, and the word DESIRE was spelled out in green M&Ms. And as if **that** weren’t enough, there was a little “TM” sign next to the phrase “What is it about the green ones?” – meaning that that phrase is **trademarked**. The M&Ms company is really serious about protecting a trademark that treats green M&Ms as “special”. While M&Ms isn’t coming out and saying it, their ads seem to imply that green M&Ms really do have the effects they’re rumored to. Of course, in reality, the only difference between a green M&M and one of another color is the food coloring used in that thin shell around the outside, and no aphrodesiac properties have ever been verified for the kind of green food coloring used in green M&Ms shells. So … is it deceptive advertising for M&Ms to capitalize on this myth? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/2 "2001-06-30T21:16:07Z")
Nah, I think it’s kind of sweet that, instead of the usual public relations department railing against an anti-corporate UL, the company’s exploiting it to their own benefit…in a sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink manner. Be on the lookout for Proctor & Gamble’s new “Devilishly Good Soap!” advertising campaign, and McDonalds’s “Worms Taste Great!” ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/3 "2001-06-30T21:26:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Nah, I think it’s kind of sweet that, instead of the usual public relations department railing against an anti-corporate UL, the company’s exploiting it to their own benefit…in a sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink manner. > > Be on the lookout for Proctor & Gamble’s new “Devilishly Good Soap!” advertising campaign, and McDonalds’s “Worms Taste Great!” \*\* and rednecks in hoods selling [Snapple](http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/snapple.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/4 "2001-06-30T23:22:31Z")
No one will believe an UL if its supported by a major company. Its only if it is denied that it becomes interesting. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/5 "2001-07-01T00:09:45Z")
today i saw a commercial where the green m&m was found naked in her trailer. a naked m&m! oh my. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/6 "2001-07-01T00:51:06Z")
Hah! And they say marketing isn’t an art. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/7 "2001-07-01T01:19:20Z")
Ukulele Ike wrote: > [@](#): > > Nah, I think it’s kind of sweet that, instead of the usual public relations department railing against an anti-corporate UL, the company’s exploiting it to their own benefit…in a sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink manner. > > Be on the lookout for Proctor & Gamble’s new “Devilishly Good Soap!” advertising campaign, and McDonalds’s “Worms Taste Great!” Heh. Those probably wouldn’t go over too well, would they? 😉 Thing is, that’s kinda my point. The Urban Legend about Proctor & Gamble’s logo being a symbol of Satanic worship, and the Urban Legend about McDonalds making their hamburgers out of worm meat, have a **negative** marketing impact. If you told the average gullible sod, “Proctor & Gamble’s logo is Satanic,” (s)he’d probably respond with, “Oh! Well, then I’d better not buy any more Proctor & Gamble products.” However, if you told this same gullible sod that “Green M&Ms make you horny,” (s)he would be more inclined to say, “Really? I’m going to go get some M&Ms right now!” The M&Ms Urban Legend has a **positive** marketing impact. Of **course** the manufacturer isn’t going to “rail against” it. It **helps** their sales, rather than harming them. Consider: What if an Urban Legend started circulating that yellow M&Ms cured cancer? What if people started eating lots of yellow M&Ms in the hope that they wouldn’t get cancer, and cancer patients started downing yellow M&Ms by the bagful? Would it be quite so “sweet” if M&Ms commercials showed a kid in chemotherapy popping yellow M&Ms, or an old man lamenting about how all his M&Ms-hating siblings have died of cancer while he noshes on a handful of the yellow ones? By playing to the Urban Legend about green M&Ms being an aphrodesiac, the M&Ms commercials are hinting that the green ones really are a substitute for Viagra. In my mind, that puts them in the same camp as the ads for herbal supplements like [EnerX](http://www.dietbreakthru.com/enerx.htm). ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/8 "2001-07-01T01:28:13Z")
Maybe I am naive, but I never thought of the “green M&Ms make you horney” thing as an actual UL. It was more of a joke. Surely no one over 12 takes it seriously? ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/9 "2001-07-01T02:26:17Z")
Dude, Manda JO is right, it is a joke. Relax, people, and get laid. BTW, I’ll sell you a bag of supergreen M&M’s… ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/10 "2001-07-01T02:38:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe I am naive, but I never thought of the “green M&Ms make you horney” thing as an actual UL. It was more of a joke. Surely no one over 12 takes it seriously? Of course its a lie! We all know its Orange Tic-Tacs that do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![BooBoo316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@BooBoo316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BooBoo316)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/11 "2001-07-01T03:06:05Z")
I like the fact that a major company can poke some fun at itself. And if they make a profit in the process…well that is the idea is it not? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/12 "2001-07-01T04:03:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > > \*\*Nah, I think it’s kind of sweet that, instead of the usual public relations department railing against an anti-corporate UL, the company’s exploiting it to their own benefit…in a sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink manner. > > > > Be on the lookout for Proctor & Gamble’s new “Devilishly Good Soap!” advertising campaign, and McDonalds’s “Worms Taste Great!” \*\* > > and rednecks in hoods selling [Snapple](http://www.snopes2.com/business/alliance/snapple.htm) \*\* Not to mention Gerber’s somewhat un-PC slogan, “Cannibals love it, too!” But I think Pepsi is attempting to _lower_ drink sales with “Mountain Dew: Shrinking Dicks Since 1961…” ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/13 "2001-07-01T18:53:58Z")
\ Speaking of which, is there any truth to the rumor that Carl Karcher, founder of Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, is a major contributor to Operation Rescue? (I’d heard the same rumor about Domino’s Pizza, but the Domino’s Pizza rumor turns out not to be true.) \ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/14 "2001-07-01T20:40:03Z")
This sort of thing won’t get M&M’s confused with an actual aphrodesiac, but it may well sell more M&M’s for the sheer ironic value, especially the Christmas M&M’s in which half of the bag is green. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/15 "2001-07-01T21:42:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*\ > > Speaking of which, is there any truth to the rumor that Carl Karcher, founder of Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, is a major contributor to Operation Rescue? (I’d heard the same rumor about Domino’s Pizza, but the Domino’s Pizza rumor turns out not to be true.) > > \ \*\* Perhaps you’re thinking of Tom Monahan…CEO of Dominos? I don’t know if he has directly supported Operation Rescue…he’s a self labeled conservative Roman Catholic who is outspoken on the abortion issue (among other issues) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/16 "2001-07-02T06:36:42Z")
The way I’d heard the Domino’s story, a guy who **used to** be a major stockholder of Domino’s Pizza is a rather outspoken anti-abortionist, but he has since sold his interest in Domino’s Pizza and is no longer a major stockholder in that corporation. I hadn’t heard anything about Domino’s CEO. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2001, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/17 "2001-07-02T08:25:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by malkavia \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Maybe I am naive, but I never thought of the “green M&Ms make you horney” thing as an actual UL. It was more of a joke. Surely no one over 12 takes it seriously? > > Of course its a lie! We all know its Orange Tic-Tacs that do the trick. > > \*\* No, Orange Tic-Tacs make your semen or vaginal fluids taste great. Get your urban legends right!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2001, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/18 "2001-07-02T12:45:51Z")
I always heard that the green M&Ms make your boobs grow. I’m living proof that **that** is a UL. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/19 "2001-07-02T14:30:53Z")
Well they certainly made _my_ boobs grow. Sadly, however, I am male. pan ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2001, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770/20 "2001-07-03T20:28:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*No, Orange Tic-Tacs make your semen or vaginal fluids taste great. Get your urban legends right!!! \*\* Ho! That’s a new one on me. I couldn’t find it over at Snopes, either. Taste “great,” eh? So is that what they use on porno sets to make the girls act like they enjoy facials? I always thought they were acting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-ms-pushing-their-own-urban-legend/70770.md?page=2)