A&W Restaurants parodies announcement from M&M's, jokes about putting jeans on cartoon bear because 'even a mascot's lack of pants can be polarizing'

M&M's recently announced plans to place "an indefinite pause" on its "spokescandies," and A&W Restaurants has capitalized on the announcement by issuing a parody statement about its own mascot.

"America, let's talk," the A&W Restaurants post began, mimicking the beginning of the M&M's message. "Since 1963, Rooty the Great Root Bear has been our beloved spokes bear. We knew people would notice because he's literally a 6-foot tall bear wearing an orange sweater. But now we get it — even a mascot's lack of pants can be polarizing.

"Therefore, we have decided that Rooty will wear jeans going forward. Not to worry though: he will remain our official spokes bear. After all, he is 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&W Restaurants concluded.

The company later noted that the post was just a joke.

The post was a parody of a statement M&M's made this week about its "spokescandies."

"America, let's talk. In the last year, we've made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren't sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn't think it would break the internet. But now we get it — even a candy's shoes can be polarizing. Which was the last thing M&M's wanted since we're all about bringing people together," the message said.

"Therefore, we have decided to take an indefinite pause from the spokescandies. In their place, we are around to introduce a spokesperson America can agree on: the beloved Maya Rudolf. We are confident Ms. Rudolf will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong," the statement noted.

Last year, M&M's switched the green character's go-go boots for sneakers and the brown character's heels for another sort of heel.

"The refreshed M&M’S® brand will include a more modern take on the looks of our beloved characters, as well as more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression and power of community through storytelling," Mars had announced last year.

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