Skittles | Romance | 2017
Known for "the finger thing," steady as ever this year / Skittles "Romance"
This is the 2017 version of Skittles' 30-second Super Bowl spot, from the brand known for "the finger thing." A boy keeps throwing candy at a window—looks like it's shaping up to be a romantic scene, but it's not just his girlfriend who ends up catching them. That reliable punchline strikes again.
The problem
Skittles has run Super Bowl ads since 2015, sticking firmly to its weird, surreal world. The 2016 spot "Portrait," starring Steven Tyler, went so far that Adweek called it the "worst ad," and opinion was split. 2017 marked a shift in direction: the creative work moved from DDB Chicago to adam&eveDDB, meaning this storied London agency was handling Skittles' Super Bowl ad for the first time. Nobody knew how it would turn out, but for the brand, "keep making weird ads" had already become its identity. The only question left was how to pull it off.
The insight
The slogan "Taste the Rainbow" has been part of Skittles' DNA since 1994, and its "[Verb] the Rainbow" structure means you can swap in any verb to generate endless variations. This time it's "Romance the Rainbow." Just by replacing the classic romantic scene—a boy tossing pebbles to tap on a window—with Skittles, you get that familiar Skittles strangeness. And the punchline is a simple statement of the product's appeal: everyone wants them. I think they were going for that delicate balance—absurd, but still getting the product's qualities across.
The idea
Late at night, a boy keeps throwing Skittles at a window. Inside, his girlfriend Katie sits on the floor, catching them in her mouth. Looks romantic... until a whole line forms behind her—family members, a police officer, a burglar, even a beaver—all standing with their mouths open waiting their turn. The Skittles scattered across the bed is a nice touch too. There's an irony to it: the boy keeps calling out "Katie" over and over, but Katie herself is long gone from the line by now. Director Harold Einstein's flat, deadpan direction really nails the Skittles atmosphere—strange things keep happening, and nobody even blinks.
What happened
This spot aired in the first quarter of Super Bowl LI. It was Skittles' third straight year advertising in the Super Bowl, and alongside Mars' other brand Snickers, they also ran a joint promotion called "Candy Bowl." The ad was posted on YouTube, and while it didn't get as many views as the previous year's Steven Tyler ad, Campaign and Adweek called it "a steady return" and gave it a "B-," and it succeeded in washing away the bad reputation from the year before.
Afterthought
I think it all comes down to this: keeping something up, year after year, is exactly how you build a brand. Rather than ending with a one-off joke, piling up absurdity year after year is what builds the trust that "Skittles = weird ads." In 2018 they made an ad meant to be seen by just one specific boy, which stirred up the whole industry, and in 2026 they pulled off the madness of sending Elijah Wood to someone's front door. Being reliable doesn't mean staying the same—it means staying weird, consistently. That's something I'd like to learn from too.
