Most people know A&W for their root beer and Mama Burgers, but the restaurant chain is also serving up satire.
After M&M’s announced they would be pausing the use of the brand’s iconic spokescandies because of vocal right-wing opposition about the characters’ designs, A&W shared an announcement of their own on Tuesday.
“America, let’s talk,” the statement opens in obvious echo of M&M’s own message.
“Since 1963, Rooty the Great Root Bear has been our beloved spokesbear. We knew people would notice because he’s literally a 6-foot tall bear wearing an orange shirt,” A&W continued.
A&W mocked the M&M’s post by calling the bear’s pantlessness “polarizing.”
The company wrote that Rooty the Great Root Bear will now wear jeans.
“We are confident Rooty will continue to champion good food and good times for many years to come…now in denim,” the company concluded.
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For those who missed the joke, A&W later said the announcement about Rooty’s pants wasn’t legitimate. On Wednesday, the day after A&W gave Rooty jeans, the company tweeted again, writing, “Is now a good time to mention this is a joke?”
The fast-food chain also responded to another Twitter user who asked if the announcement was real with a GIF of Rooty appearing behind a large, red “NO.”
On Monday, M&M’s, which is owned by Mars Wrigley, made the surprise announcement that the brand would halt the use of their “polarizing” candy characters. Former SNL cast member and comedian Maya Rudolph is the new M&M’s spokesperson.
M&M’s redesigned some of their spokescandies last year, most noticeably ditching the green M&M’s go-go boots. The brand also lowered the height of the brown M&M’s former stilettos and introduced a new purple M&M in honour of International Women’s Day.
Cries of upset sounded in response, with Tucker Carlson of Fox News leading the charge. Carlson called the candies “woke M&M’s.”
“M&M’s will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous,” Carlson said on his self-titled show. “Until the moment when you wouldn’t want to have a drink with any one of them. That’s the goal. When you’re totally turned off, we’ve achieved equity. They’ve won.”
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