I am a child of the 80s. One way to tell is how I shameless decorate my work desk with My Little Pony and Gummi Bear toys. The other? I refer to my brown packaged M&Ms as “Plain” and not “Milk Chocolate”.
What was wrong with calling them “Plain” M&Ms? Why the name change? I’d assume it’s because of the expansion of new flavors in the line. Wouldn’t want anyone getting confused, right? Seriously though, even the new “Dark” M&Ms aren’t “Dark Chocolate”….just,”Dark”. I see it as Plain M&Ms maybe trying to be better understood, to stand out, wanting to have the chocolate innards more appropriately highlighted. According to the website:
In the summer of 2000 it was decided that “M&M’s”® Plain Chocolate Candies were too good to be called “Plain” and therefore the packaging name was changed to “M&M’s”® Milk Chocolate Candies.
Do you know the biggest travesty of all? Where did my favorite color, the Light Brown M&M go? Why did it have to get pushed over by the ugly (no offense) blue? Every time I open a packet of M&Ms now the blue ones stick out like an eye sore. They do not belong! I want my light browns! Sniffle
One can only hope that Mars will decide to bring the light brown back. I’ve given up on the hopes they might change the name back to “Plain”. Such changes to one of my favorite candies has permanently left its mark on me. As a child, I used to eat all the orange pieces first, you know, because the color was ugly to me. Now? All the blue ones go first.
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The light browns were always my favorite, too — I think they tasted better.
I have to admit that I was happy to see them bring back red, because that was one of my first “didn’t there use to be…?” memories (and it was pre-Internet, so I couldn’t easily look it up). Past restoring red, they shouldn’t have changed anything, and when *I* rule the world I will re-establish the correct colors.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:37 amright on brother
December 11th, 2006 at 12:16 pmlight brown used to be the only ones that tasted different. I have tried to tell people this, but everyone thinks I”m crazy. I’m glad someone remembers.
December 11th, 2006 at 1:06 pmI never even noticed they changed the name to Milk Chocolate, I usually get peanut though, but I still refer to the original as Plain, and that will always be how it will be to me.
December 12th, 2006 at 4:42 amAnd here I thought I was the only one who missed light brown! Glad to see I’m not.
I’d trade blue for light brown in a second, though I admit, I don’t remember it tasting different. 
December 12th, 2006 at 1:15 pmI loved the tan ones too, and I agree they tasted different and better. My husband says that the blue color is like “Ford” blue and that it was an even older color that they brought back. i haven’t been able to verify that as of yet.
December 13th, 2006 at 10:42 pmWow
December 7th, 2007 at 2:00 pmI dont remember the tan ones..
Must’ve been before my time.
But I do agree that the blue ones are out of place.
Bring back light brown! It had the best taste of any of them!
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:17 pmthe tan ones were the best, agreed.
i always thought they tasted different too. even if they are the same, color surely affects the perception… oh, whatever! i KNOW they tasted different!
Luckily, i had the foresight to save them. I have a Heinz ketchup bottle full of tan M&Ms sitting in my parents’ house somewhere. I can’t be the only one!
July 18th, 2008 at 5:32 am