Taste the rainbow

What has been the most influential campaign in your life?

The word “influence” can be taken in a variety of ways. It could mean empowerment, purchase decisions, or an individual path that led you to feel or act a certain way. When I reflected back on the most influential campaign I’ve seen to date, it was a quick decision for me. It’s not that this ad campaign changed my decisions on a subject matter, or even made me purchase something immediately, like most good influential ads do. But, this campaign made me think differently — and not in the Apple way.

The Taste the Rainbow campaign from Skittles changed the advertising landscape for me. It combined multiple layers into a memorable, cohesive, branded campaign. As a kid when these ads were on the big screen, I’d tell my family how desperately we needed to go to the nearest CVS to purchase all the Skittles available. It reminded me of my most favorite moments, watching TV with my family, and also connected the past feelings of happiness and eagerness into one, continuous moment.

Here’s why the Taste the Rainbow campaign is so great.

For starters, the slogan is iconic. Skittles was one of the first brands to have colorful, flavorful products. They used this strength and soared away from their competitors. Everyone wanted to try to actually taste the rainbow. Not only did the tagline make you remember the ads, it also made you want to do something [taste] for their product [rainbow]. The tagline also differentiated the brand from its competitors, as now the idea of “rainbows” were associated with the brand.

The imagery and ideation of the settings were colorful, playful, childish. These elements played into the tone, voice, feel, of the brand of course, but it also played into the actual product itself — and the consumer. The products were colorful (rainbow), they were playful (and shareable), and they were candy - for kids. These elements also described their target consumer, so it was adhering to their target audience in an identifiable and cohesive way.

The idea was, at the other end of the rainbow, per say. This idea of mixing weird scenes with product features was abnormal. It was different, creative, and a way to describe a simplistic product in an elevated way. The additional layer of adding in a first line specific to the spot, and following up with “taste the rainbow” connected all ads across these abnormal scenes, and made the campaign feel fresh and relatable - always.

The compilation of all these iconic ads, for your viewing pleasure, here.