It’s the 4th of July and that means that it is Independence Day for the USA. To mark this fun summer holiday I’ve decided to look back at a number of patriotic-themed M&M’s packs released through the years. Make the jump to check them out!
M&M’s earliest foray into seasonally-themed packaging would seem to originate with their trademark “Holidays” branding and that launched in the 1980’s and would eventually include a 4th of July-theme red,white and blue release in 1991. Note the little flags and stars graphics printed on the candy pieces instead of the normal “M”:
Mars – M&M’s Holidays Plain – 4th of July Red White Blue – 14oz candy bag package – 1991
The next patriotic packaging I was able to find comes from a decade later and is from a time after the modern M&M’s mascots had arrived on the scene to become pop cultural phenomenons.
Mars – M&M’s Peanut – 4th of July Red White Blue – 9.4oz candy bag package – 2002
Love the mascots in their tricorne hats and revolutionary war instruments on that package — it’s pretty awesome.
Jumping ahead another decade and we have the current version of patriotic packaging found on the larger volume M&M’s bags.
Mars – Peanut M&M’s Red White & Blue – 11.4oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2016
That Peanut M&M’s package is one I picked up this year although the patriotic design featured on it has been in use at least as far back as 2012. Joining the Milk Chocolate and Peanut M&M’s patriotic mix packages for 2016 was a newcomer in the form of Crispy S’Mores M&M’s. I should note that this particular patriotic packaging was available only at Target as one of their store exclusives for 2016:
Mars – Crispy S’mores M&M’s Red White & Blue – Target Exclusive packaging – 8oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2016
Beyond the larger seasonal packages, Mars has also been releasing red, white and blue M&M’s and the smaller “Sharing Size” packs, although they underwent a design update this year. Here are examples of the outgoing design from the last few years as well as the ones introduced for Summer 2016:
Milk Chocolate M&M’s Red White & Blue – Sharing Size – 3.14oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2012
Peanut M&M’s Red White & Blue – Sharing Size – 3.27oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2012
Milk Chocolate M&M’s Red White & Blue – Sharing Size – 3.14oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2016
Peanut M&M’s Red White & Blue – Sharing Size – 3.27oz 4th of July candy package bag – 2016
I’m sure there are patriotic packaging designs and releases from years that I don’t currently have, but I’m always searching to fill in those historical gaps. For now I’m excited to have been able to share a nice twenty-five year span of 4th of July M&M’s packs. So that’s everything for now. I hope you enjoyed the look back and I’ll see you next time!
Were the 1991 M&M’s Fourth of July Holidays candies made following the original Gulf War that occured earlier that 1991 year?