Confectionary brand Skittles has taken a different approach to advertising with its latest campaign from DDB.
Titled Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, the ad stars actor Michael C. Hall singing ‘Advertising Ruins Everything’.
https://youtu.be/1nIJCtq9KOk
The song, written for the ad, includes the line: “It ruins the web, and it ruins TV, and it fills our inboxes with spam/And there’s nothing we hate more than each time you pay for a targeted ad on Instagram.”
The ad coincides with the biggest advertising event of the year, America’s Super Bowl.
According to the company, Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical will be “the first-ever commercial performed as a live Broadway musical”.
In a press release, Skittles brand director Debbie Litow said: “We’re always looking for opportunities to innovate and entertain our fans in new ways around football’s biggest stage.
“And what better way to do that this year than by bringing our ad to the world’s most famous stage: Broadway.”
As per the release, Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical is written by playwright and Pulitzer finalist Will Eno in partnership with DDB Worldwide.
The 17-member cast, led by Hall, will perform the show one time only, in front of a live audience at The Town Hall in New York City on Sunday, February 3 at 1 p.m. EST. The show will also feature original songs backed by a live band.
Tickets to the live performance are on sale and available to the public at Ticketmaster.com and ticket proceeds will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS—a nonprofit organization that awards annual grants that help men, women and children receive lifesaving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency assistance.
SKITTLES will also match this donation.
The commercial has gone viral, with Americans taking to social media to congratulate the brand on its originality, as well as the song’s catchiness.
So, who is going to invite me to their Super Bowl party so I can sing along to “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical” and eat all of your chicken wings? pic.twitter.com/F6dq2zm1tj
— Allison Dora Diamond (@sassygoogle) January 30, 2019
Currently listening to Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical. Not gonna lie. Pretty into it. #SkittlesTheMusical https://t.co/5N4MpQvR8B
— Daniel Sawtelle (@DanielSawtelle) January 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/conchamb_PR/status/1088082690241380352
Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical follows the release of Pepsi’s Super Bowl ad starring Steve Carrell.
Putting recent disasters starring members of the Kardashian family behind it, the new spot stars actor and comic Steve Carell and asks, “Is Pepsi, ok?”, a direct dig at arch-enemy Coca-Cola.
The ad’s the work of San Franciscan agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and also has cameos from rap artists Lil’ Jon and Cardi B.
Check out the fun spot below:
https://youtu.be/9sYElEbRzKA
Commenting on the ad, Pepsi’s vice president of marketing Todd Kaplan said: “Every day, there are millions of people who enjoy Pepsi- people who love this brand – yet they continue to be asked ‘Is Pepsi OK?’.
“We felt that it was time to address this question head-on, by celebrating our fans, our valued restaurant partners, and our core consumers by unapologetically letting everyone know that Pepsi is way more than OK.”
