Apologize
the Rainbow
the Rainbow
Back in 2013, Skittles replaced Lime Skittles with Green Apple. That decision immediately incited a massive consumer complaint campaign that raged uninterrupted for nine straight years.
When Skittles finally decided to bring back lime, we knew we couldn't just sweep all that anger under the rug. So we chose to apologize in the most un-corporate way we could think of...
Individually.
The Teaser
We kicked things off with a teaser pushing viewers to Twitch for our live Apology Press Conference.
THE PRESS CONFERENCE
With a runtime of 35 minutes and 43 seconds, this film is 31 minutes and 49 seconds longer than the second longest ad I ever made.
OOH
While most corporations try to hide the nasty stuff people say about them, we displayed our customer's hate in the most public place imaginable... Times Square.
PRINT
We also printed it in... print.
OPEN LETTER
Even after all that, we weren't remotely close to delivering an individual apology to everyone who complained. So we posted an open letter of apology that included the @handles of all the folks we'd wronged. It was a very long letter... 16.67 feet long to be exact. If you have an extra 10 hours and 54 minutes of reading time to spare, you can click the button below to download it.
Apology Skittles
Finally, for those who still wouldn't forgive us after all that, we resorted to flat-out bribery with a microsite that gave away free Apology Skittles. As expected, we ran out almost instantly, giving lime fans everywhere something new to complain about.
AWARDS
Cannes - 4 Gold 1 Silver 3 Bronze
D&AD 2 - Yellow 1 Graphite 4 Wood
One Show - 2 Gold, 2 Bronze
Clios - 5 Gold 2 Bronze
Effies - 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Andy's - 1 Grandy, 3 Gold
NY Festival 1 Grand, 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 3 Bronze
D&AD 2 - Yellow 1 Graphite 4 Wood
One Show - 2 Gold, 2 Bronze
Clios - 5 Gold 2 Bronze
Effies - 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Andy's - 1 Grandy, 3 Gold
NY Festival 1 Grand, 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 3 Bronze
PRESS
Featured in Fast Company (twice), Muse by Clio, Adage, The Drum, Little Black Book, Marketing Dive, All TV Spots, Canvas8, The Australian Business Review and a ton of local news stations.
ECD: Colin Selikow
CD, Writer: Rosswell Saunders
CD, Art Director: Paulo Junger
CD, Writer: Rosswell Saunders
CD, Art Director: Paulo Junger