Mars is here to help
Just when I thought the days of tying regular promotions to the economy and the recession were over, Mars has come out with the Real Chocolate Relief Act. The official Real Chocolate Relief Act web site, at realchocolate.com, says “Times are tough and we at Mars want to help.”
Mars says it is giving away free chocolate to help in tough economic times, and it is also highlighting the fact that Mars candy is made with real chocolate.
Taking pride in chocolate
Here is the explanation from Mars for why their chocolate is superior to certain other candy makers’ chocolate:
“For nearly 100 years, we’ve made chocolate with 100% cocoa butter, which is the taste bud-craving, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate you expect from Mars. Without cocoa butter, chocolate simply is not chocolate.
Some companies use artificial ingredients to make their chocolate sweeter or because it’s cheaper. Know that with Mars, there is no substitute for cocoa butter. We know you prefer Real Chocolate. And that’s what we plan to deliver.”
So, if you sometimes find yourself applying for a same day loan to support your sweet tooth, you can apply for the Real Chocolate Relief Act.
Application for chocolate intake modification
Starting this Friday, July 31, you can go to the RealChocolate web site and plug in your e-mail address. Of everyone who provides their e-mail address, 250,000 people will get a coupon each week for free chocolate
You must apply on Friday for the duration of the promotion, but you can apply every Friday. The promotion lasts throughout September, so you’ve got two months worth of Fridays to try for your free chocolate.
Who decides what’s chocolate?
Mars says on its web site that the U.S. government has written up standards on what qualifies as real chocolate. The Real Chocolate Relief Act web site says:
“U.S. Standards of Identity are government regulations that define which ingredients may be used to make a food product in order to be allowed to call it by a certain name. For chocolate, the Standards of Identity require that cocoa butter be the only source of fat (except for milk fat). There are several other requirements too, such as a specific amount of chocolate liquor, use of flavorings and sugar substitutes.”
The web site also says if candy wrappers say things such as “chocolate flavoring,” “chocolaty” or “made with chocolate,” those products probably aren’t made with the approved chocolate ingredients.
All in the family
Mars is one of the largest privately owned corporations in the U.S. as the business still belongs to the Mars family — the same family that opened the first Mars Candy Factory in 1911.
The business really took off with the invention of the Milky Way bar, which became the country’s best-selling candy bar after it was introduced in 1923. Today, though the global CEO of Mars Inc., Paul Michaels, is one of the first company CEOs who is not a member of the Mars family, the company is still owned by the family. The family now oversees the business as a council or board of directors.
