Skittles: Touch the Rainbow
Skittles needed to boost brand engagement and reinforce its "Taste the Rainbow" tagline among a digitally-savvy audience. The client sought a highly interactive and memorable campaign that would stand out in a crowded market and embody Skittles' quirky, unexpected brand personality.
Creative Idea
Viewers' fingers became dramatic war heroes, fighting for the rainbow.
Skittles created an interactive video transforming the viewer's index finger into a dramatic war hero, fighting for the rainbow. This worked by using absurd, over-the-top storytelling and direct engagement to make the brand's playful essence and "Taste the Rainbow" tagline an unforgettable, immersive experience.
The Low Tech Magic of a Fish Paste Finger
The Psychology of Zero Budget Innovation
While many brands in 2011 were chasing expensive augmented reality, BBDO Toronto realized they could hijack user psychology for free. By placing a single Skittle in the exact center of the video frame, they ensured every viewer's finger was perfectly aligned for the "interaction." This "pseudo-interactive" medium required no new code, yet the Cat video alone logged 600,000 views in its first 48 hours. The campaign eventually surpassed 10 million views without a cent of paid media spend, proving that a bizarre creative hook could bypass the need for high-tech platforms.
Fish Paste and Police Standoffs
The production of these spots relied on gritty, practical solutions rather than digital polish. To ensure the cat in the interactive series stayed focused on the viewer's "finger," the production team coated a finger-shaped prop in fish paste. Meanwhile, the 2007 "Midas Touch" commercial, directed by Tom Kuntz, faced a literal shutdown. The shoot ran so long that police arrived to clear the set, only for Kuntz to persuade them to allow the crew a few final hours to capture the now-iconic footage of Tim, the video store clerk.
Defining the Era of Surrealism
This era of Skittles advertising, alongside brands like Old Spice, defined the "surrealist" trend of the late 2000s. By modularizing their slogan - replacing "Taste" with verbs like Touch, Believe, or Harvest - the brand kept a tagline from 1994 feeling experimental. The "Midas Touch" spot became Creativity Online’s most watched ad of 2007, cementing Skittles as the top non-chocolate chewy candy in the U.S. through sheer, shareable absurdity.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Skittles could credibly deliver unexpected, absurd, and colorful experiences that defy conventional logic and engage consumers playfully.
Category
Most candy advertising typically focuses on taste, texture, or simple enjoyment, often using bright, straightforward visuals and direct messaging.
Customer
Audiences sought engaging, shareable content that broke through the mundane, offering a moment of unexpected humor and interactive escapism.
Culture
The cultural trend of interactive digital content and short-form, attention-grabbing, meme-worthy absurdity made this campaign highly resonant.
Company
Skittles could credibly deliver unexpected, absurd, and colorful experiences that defy conventional logic and engage consumers playfully.
Category
Most candy advertising typically focuses on taste, texture, or simple enjoyment, often using bright, straightforward visuals and direct messaging.
Strategy:
Transform mundane interaction into an absurd, emotionally charged narrative to create unforgettable brand engagement.
Customer
Audiences sought engaging, shareable content that broke through the mundane, offering a moment of unexpected humor and interactive escapism.
Culture
The cultural trend of interactive digital content and short-form, attention-grabbing, meme-worthy absurdity made this campaign highly resonant.
Strategy:
Transform mundane interaction into an absurd, emotionally charged narrative to create unforgettable brand engagement.
Strategy Technique
Create a Parallel World
Skittles built a fictional universe where a simple finger interaction escalates into an absurd, emotional war. This parallel world amplified the brand's playful, unexpected nature, making the "Taste the Rainbow" experience uniquely memorable.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Create Fantasy Worlds, People and Things
The campaign transforms the viewer's finger into a soldier in a dramatic, war-torn fantasy world. This surreal scenario makes the interaction memorable and perfectly aligns with Skittles' quirky brand identity.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its audacious, meta-interactive concept, delivering unexpected humor through brilliant copywriting and a striking visual transformation that engages the viewer directly.
The campaign's ingenious use of an interactive prompt, inviting viewers to use their finger as a central character, directly immerses them in the surreal narrative.
The finger-soldier's dramatic, humorous, and unexpectedly poignant monologue is expertly written, perfectly capturing Skittles' unique brand voice and eliciting strong, amused reactions.
The jarring yet effective contrast between the serene blue sky and the detailed, gritty warzone, populated by candy and miniature props, brilliantly sells the surreal concept.
The seamless integration of the viewer's finger into the miniature war-torn landscape, complete with realistic explosions and dynamic debris, elevates the absurdity and spectacle.
