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Gordon's Republic

What's eating Mars?

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A bizarre display of what can only be described as corporate dementia broke out as Mars wobbled around the issue of adding animal products to its various lines before realising this was a really stupid thing to do and changed its mind very publicly.
When news of this got out it turned into a PR nightmare for managing director Fiona Dawson, who is clearly making herself a candidate for the sack. Within a week of the decision being announced, more than 6,000 people had called and emailed the multinational's switchboard, which usually receives 500 comments a week. More than 40 MPs also signed a petition to voice their disapproval.

Mars said it took the original decision to start adding animal products to its Mars, Snickers, Malteser and Galaxy brands to "broaden our supply base to ensure the availability of our supply, but we underestimated the impact this would have". Errr, read as didn't estimate the impact at all. Has no one at Mars ever heard of the phrase if it ain’t broke don't fix it?

This morning it is running full-page press ads all over the national press headlined "we have listened", where it goes on about the customer being the "boss" and how it will immediately begin taking animal products back out. What is also clear is that while the customer is the boss, Dawson sure isn't.

"We made a mistake," she said in the signed open letter. "We apologise. The customer is our boss. Therefore we listen to you and your feedback."

Now the situation exists that Mars has said it will remove the animal products from its production process, but in the meantime the shelves are stacked with Mars bars and Snickers bars that have animal products in. It will not recall them and it cannot say how long it will before these products will naturally disappear.

To add to the confusion, animal products will still be used in other products such as Twix, Bounty, Celebrations, Topic and Milky Way.

Clearly this is a Fudge (do they still make that bar? I have to admit I loved those as a kid, just filling enough).

Annette Pinner, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said: "The position is highly confused. We need to know what's going to be vegetarian - and when it's going to be vegetarian."

She added: While welcoming the U-turn, she added: "We really want clarity. That's what is important so that people know Mars can be trusted."

The whole episode has made Mars a laughing stock, but it is very funny. The independent newspaper called it a "truly cruel but funny prank played by the universe on vegetarians". I get that, and I'm a vegetarian. Oh wait, I might get in trouble with the Vegetarian Society. I'm only a demi vegetarian if that wasn't confusing enough.

Published May 21 2007, 09:01 AM by Gordon Macmillan

Filed under: Mars Bar

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