• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, May 14, 2007

Masterfoods, the candy giant, is now plain Mars.

By the end of the year, the company says, all of its units in more than 65 companies will be known as Mars, with a few exceptions that it did not name.

"A single corporate brand name will consolidate and leverage the credibility and goodwill that Mars has earned world-wide through its famous product brands," said Mars Global President Paul S. Michaels in a news release. "By introducing a unified corporate brand name, we will reduce complexity, provide one point of reference and build greater awareness for our business."

A spokesperson said Mars is "centered on rolling out the name change" and couldn't say whether a campaign similar to AT&T's--when it branded its initials on Cingular--would take place. The company spent $323 million on advertising in 2006, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Most of that went to marketing its many products, including Milky Way, Mars and Snickers bars, M&Ms, Uncle Ben's Rice and Pedigree and Whiskas pet care products. Its global sales are about $21 billion annually.

A privately held company based in McLean, Va., Mars is notoriously mum--as was MARS Advertising, based in Southfield, Mich., which did not respond Friday to a call for comment on whether it expects to encounter any more confusion as a result of Masterfoods' decision.