Skittles tells a zany love story in its third Super Bowl spot
Unlike many of this year’s Super Bowl advertisers, Skittles has opted to go the no-celeb route with a quirky spot that tells the story of a family who receives an unexpected late-night helping of Skittles from a boy who is crushing on their daughter.
The spot, which marks the Mars-owned brand’s third appearance in the Super Bowl, is a twist on one of TV’s biggest clichés: the classic “teenage boy throws rocks at his crush’s window” scene.
Except in Skittles’ ad, the boy isn’t throwing rocks at his crush Katie’s window – he’s throwing Skittles, obviously. And instead of being flattered (or creeped out) by his over-the-top gesture, she simply catches the Skittles in her mouth as they fly through her window one by one.
As the spot goes on, more and more people get in on the Skittles action. Katie’s mom, dad, and grandma each take turns catching Skittles while the boy hopelessly tries to get her attention. In typical Skittles’ fashion, the ad ends on a decidedly bizarre note when a robber, cop and beaver all find themselves in Katie’s room catching Skittles in their mouths too.
Created by London-based Adam&EveDDB, the 30-second ad, which continues the brand’s ongoing “Taste the Rainbow” tagline, is slated to air during the game’s first quarter.
The candy brand made its Super Bowl debut in 2015 with a spot that featured a small town of arm wrestlers who settle all problems with arm wrestling competitions. When two of the town’s men find themselves pining for the last lemon Skittle, they “settle it the usual way” with – you guessed it – an arm wrestling match. Last year, Skittles tapped Steven Tyler to star in its Super Bowl 50 spot. In the ad, Tyler is appalled when he sees a portrait of himself that was created entirely with Skittles. Both ads were created by DDB Chicago.