In 'Woke' Move, A&W Put Pants on Its Bear Mascot in Apparent Dig at M&M's

Filipinos of a certain age remember A&W, the fast-food chain perhaps best-known for its root beer floats and burgers. It’s no longer in the country now, but it’s still apparently popular in its home country, the U.S. It’s mascot, Rooty the Great Root Bear is a familiar sight to millions of Americans who love its fast-food offerings.

The company is making headlines after it made a “shocking” announcement: Rooty, who has been the brand’s mascot for decades, will ditch his pants-less persona and will now start wearing jeans.

In a post on Twitter, A&W explained that “even a mascot’s lack of pants can be polarizing.”

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“Therefore, we have decided that Rooty will wear jeans going forward,” the company said. “Not to worry though, he will remain our official spokesbear. After all, he is an un-bear-ably cute and im-paw-ssible to replace. We are confident Rooty will continue to champion good food & good times for many years to come…now in denim.”

A message from A&W. pic.twitter.com/WGdF12TSyg

— A&W Restaurants (@awrestaurants) January 24, 2023

The statement is an apparent dig at candy company M&M’s, whose own post about its “spokescandies” just a few days earlier A&W copied almost word for word.

See, M&M’s announced that it would pause the use of its spokescandies indefinitely after receiving flak for making tweaks to the characters’ image, specifically their “sexiness.” The candy company changed a few of the characters’ outfits, including giving the green M&M flat shoes instead of a sexy stiletto, and the brown M&M a kitten heel.

“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice,” the M&M wrote in a statement. “And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet. But now we get it—even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing.” 

A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o

— Ma&Ya’s (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023

This was what A&W was referencing when it made its own announcement about its bear mascot. 

People initially thought the fast-food company was serious, and there were howls of protests, accusing A&W of caving to the so-called “woke” movement. But hours after the initial post, A&W followed up with a statement saying that it was only kidding and that Rooty the Root Bear, would, in fact, remain pants-less.

Meanwhile, after announcing that it would take an indefinite pause from its spokescandies, M&M said it would tap actress and comedienne Maya Rudolph as its new spokesperson.

If the companies were hoping to generate publicity for their respective brands, we say, mission accomplished.