M&M’s pitched its rebrand as progressive and triggered the cons
Plus: To have clout on social media as a politician, be polarizing
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Hello, in this week’s issue we’ll look at…
M&M’s pitched its rebrand as progressive and triggered the cons
The artist behind the new Maya Angelou quarter made coins in Canada too
This quilt is made of fabric found in the desert to memorialize migrants who died in Arizona
To have clout on social media as a politician, be polarizing
M&M’s pitched its rebrand as progressive and triggered the cons
Mars, Incorporated announced a rebrand for M&M’s last Thursday that includes a new custom typeface, a recommitment to the ampersand, and a promise the brand would “reflect the more dynamic, progressive world that we live in.”
The rebrand was done by Jones Knowles Ritchie, the same creative agency that did last year’s neo-retro Burger King rebrand. The custom typeface, the first in M&M’s history, is called All Together, and it comes in serif and slab serif. All Together was designed by Monotype’s Charles Nix and Juan Villanueva.
The ampersand at the heart of M&M’s name is “a sign of togetherness from the very beginning” and stands out in type & copy. It communicates addition, and in the brand’s color palette of brown plus every-primary-and-secondary-color-except-purple, it can pull off rainbow without reading Pride.
Mars is following-up its rebrand with action, promising to “use the power of fun to include everyone with a goal of increasing the sense of belonging for 10 million people around the world by 2025,” a veritable Paris Agreement of Belonging that Mars says will include mentorship, opportunities, and financial support in the arts and entertainment.
Branding snack foods as treats for togetherness is one of the oldest tricks in the books. And while announcing it in the language of progressivism and inclusivity is relatively new (and the requirement to back your words with deed is even newer still), it feels a bit tired, as does the predictable, halfhearted rightwing reaction to the green M&M ditching her heels. It’s like T*cker Carlson isn’t even trying anymore.
Culture wars outrage cycles aside, M&M’s refreshed brand did what it set out to do. It’s optimistic, colorful, and bright, and the font even smiles at you. All Together includes ink traps, small indentations in letters used to give excess ink room to spill out during printing (like in the “h” in “hi” above), and their curves “hint to smiles,” the agency said.
The artist behind the new Maya Angelou quarter made coins in Canada too
Emily Damstra, the artist who designed the first new quarter in the U.S. Mint’s four-year American Women Quarters Program, of writer and poet Maya Angelou, is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada who’s designed dozens of coins.
A nature artist and science illustrator, Damstra’s designed coins depicting a grizzly, lynx, red-tailed hawk, arctic hare, and lobster for the Royal Canadian Mint. In the U.S., her work also includes a forthcoming quarter of actress Anna May Wong, also for the American Women program.
Damstra told Artnet News the bird in Angelou coin is an allusion to Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird,” and the pose she placed her in was inspired by photos, though entirely her own creation. The quarter began shipping earlier this month.
This quilt is made of fabric found in the desert to memorialize migrants who died in Arizona
The Migrant Quilt Project is an ongoing art installation memorializing migrants who’ve died since 2000 in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona.
The project was started by volunteer Jody Ipsen in 2007 after she met people from Mexico and Central America who lost a loved one who was trying to get to the U.S., and more than 50 artists have contributed to the project, according to the Associated Press.
Quilts are made from clothes found left in the desert, and the names of those who died are written into the quilts when possible. “Desconocido,” or “unknown,” is used for those who are unidentified. The newest quilt, for 2019-2020, uses fabric to depict three figures at twilight, including a young child, with the names written around as a frame.
Since the 2000-2001 fiscal year, more than 3,600 migrants have been found dead in southern Arizona, per data reviewed by AP, including about 1,400 who are unidentified.
Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project is open at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Ariz., through Feb. 28, 2023.
To have clout on social media as a politician, be polarizing
Not surprising, but now we have the numbers. The politicians who drive the most social media engagement on news articles are the most divisive, according to data provided by NewsWhip to Axios.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the top politician in the bunch, averaging about 2,300 interactions per article between Jan. 18, 2021 and Jan. 17, 2022. He was followed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.). You can see the full list here.
Attention economy politics has led to an emphasis on communications over legislating, and social media has become a shortcut to fundraising and power in Washington, especially in the House. But true power doesn’t always come from engagement. President Joe Biden didn’t score high on the list, and neither did one of the Senate’s most influential members, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).
This is cool
I like what Shepard Fairey’s doing with his NFTs. A pixelated version of his Obey Giant image called "OG Obey V.1” is up for auction as a digital sticker.
For my latest story I wrote about how images from media coverage of Biden's anniversary in office weren't pretty. You can read it here. — Hunter
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