Written by: Elise Oler
In the weeks before the Super Bowl, Skittles announced their unorthodox take on advertising for the coming game. They would be creating one of the most over the top Super Bowl commercials to date that would not air during the Super Bowl or broadcasted anywhere. This decision was made to combat one of the largest problems companies like Skittles face.
“People buy snacks for Super Bowl parties in the days leading up to the game, not during it.”
-Ari Weiss, DDB’s North American chief American creative officer
This leads to a rather large problem to solve. How does a company like Skittles create enough buzz before the Super Bowl to promote sales before the game? In order to battle the noise before the Super Bowl, Skittles would have to come up with a very unexpected commercial that could not be ignored. With that, the idea of Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical was conceptualized.
This musical commercial hybrid was designed with the full intent of not being aired or broadcasted. This leaves the only insight into the production to the teaser video or viewing the live performance at Town Hall. Skittles chose Michael C. Hall, best known for his performance as Dexter, to be the celebrity personality and the face of the production. The teaser video addresses his apprehensiveness to do a commercial, but this was far from any traditional commercial. The musical featured four songs within a thirty-minute time frame. The songs featured comedic commentary on advertising. Anyone who missed the performance can find the songs on Spotify.
Since this “commercial” is being hailed as not only an advertisement but also a work of commentary art, how does the Skittles method of advertising affect how this ad will be received and by who?
Author: Elise Oiler