Skittles: Tim
Skittles aimed to maintain its distinct, irreverent brand image and cultural relevance among young adults. The client sought a creative campaign that would generate buzz by showcasing the brand's unique, absurd humor in an unexpected way.
Creative Idea
A magical power to turn things into Skittles was revealed as a tragic curse.
Skittles brilliantly subverted the idea of a magical power by showing how turning everything into Skittles would be a devastating curse, creating dark humor that reinforced the brand's quirky, unexpected identity.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Skittles credibly delivered absurd, irreverent humor, leveraging its established brand identity for unexpected narratives.
Category
Candy advertising typically focused on pure joy or taste, avoiding any negative or inconvenient implications.
Customer
The audience desired entertaining, shareable content that offered a clever, unexpected twist on common tropes.
Culture
A cultural appreciation for dark humor and subverting conventional tropes made the campaign's ironic premise resonate.
Company
Skittles credibly delivered absurd, irreverent humor, leveraging its established brand identity for unexpected narratives.
Category
Candy advertising typically focused on pure joy or taste, avoiding any negative or inconvenient implications.
Strategy:
Leverage product characteristics to create humorous tension between desire and inconvenient reality.
Customer
The audience desired entertaining, shareable content that offered a clever, unexpected twist on common tropes.
Culture
A cultural appreciation for dark humor and subverting conventional tropes made the campaign's ironic premise resonate.
Strategy:
Leverage product characteristics to create humorous tension between desire and inconvenient reality.
Strategy Technique
Create a Tension Between Product & World
The campaign created tension by showing how the product's "magic" disrupts everyday life. This highlighted the absurdity and distinctiveness of the Skittles brand.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Reverse Expectations
The campaign reversed expectations by presenting a seemingly desirable superpower as a tragic curse. This unexpected twist generated dark humor, making the brand memorable and distinct.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's exceptional craft lies in its ability to deliver dark, absurd humor through masterful acting and seamlessly integrated visual effects, all underpinned by sharp, concise copywriting.
The lead actor's deadpan delivery of increasingly bizarre and dark lines is crucial to the ad's unique comedic tone and effectively sells the absurd premise.
The dialogue is concise, impactful, and masterfully crafted to create both humor and an underlying sense of unease, particularly through the main character's philosophical questions and grim anecdote.
The visual effects of objects transforming instantly into Skittles are well-executed and seamless, making the magical realism believable and central to the ad's core concept.
The straightforward, realistic cinematography and camera work grounds the fantastical elements in a mundane setting, enhancing the absurd humor and making the Skittles' appearance more jarring and effective.
