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Skittles launched in 1971, packaging five fruit-flavored candies—lime, lemon, grape, orange, and strawberry—each matched to its color.
The brand's first slogan, "The Rainbow of Fruit Flavors," established their core concept: multiple distinct tastes in one bag.
Skittles launched its first TV commercial in 1974.
The animated ad featured the Galaxy company logo and carried Jack Candies Ltd.'s copyright.
In 1994, advertising agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles launched Skittles' "Taste the Rainbow" campaign.
The ads placed colorful candies in bizarre scenarios—Skittles raining from clouds, sprouting from trees, or emerging from unexpected places.
This approach transformed Skittles' marketing strategy.
For nearly 30 years, "Taste the Rainbow" has anchored the brand's identity, with its imagery and tone shifting to match changing consumer tastes.
In 2009, Skittles launched video ads asking viewers to press their index finger against their computer screens.
The finger then became a visual prop within each commercial—interacting with animated characters, serving as a tightrope, or becoming a player in a boxing match.
This standard video advertising became a participatory experience.
In 2010, Skittles shifted from conventional candy advertising to surreal storytelling with its "Believe the Rainbow" campaign.
Their commercials featured teenagers in unsettling scenarios.
Like trading Skittles through handshakes, crying Skittles tears, and most notably, spreading "Skittles pox" where rainbow-colored candies erupted from their skin like a contagious disease.
Skittles launched pop-up stores in 2011 where customers exchanged personal items for candy packets.
The company auctioned these collected items and donated the proceeds to charity.
It merged product promotion with social impact.
During Pride Month, Skittles replaces its rainbow-colored candies and packaging with an all-white design.
The campaign, launched in 2016, pairs this visual shift with the message "During Pride, only one rainbow matters," helping to give space to LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations.
For the 2018 Super Bowl, Skittles broke from tradition.
Rather than air a multi-million dollar commercial to millions of TV viewers, they showed their ad to one person: Marcos Menendez from Los Angeles.
The company livestreamed Menendez's real-time reactions on Facebook, letting viewers watch him watch the ad they couldn't see.
During the 2019 Super Bowl, Skittles replaced its traditional TV commercial with a live Broadway musical.
Actor Michael C. Hall performed in the 30-minute show, "Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical," which ran once at Manhattan's Town Hall theater.
Skittles released all-white candy packages in 2020, replacing their signature rainbow design with black text featuring messages like "Stand Up" and "Use Your Voice."
The campaign partnered with Rock the Vote to drive voter registration among 18-24 year olds.
Each package directed buyers to a website where they could check their registration status and find polling locations.
In 2022, Skittles partnered with GLAAD to colorize black-and-white photographs documenting LGBTQ+ history.
The "Recolour the Rainbow" campaign transformed archival images into vibrant photos, bringing forgotten moments into sharp focus.
Beyond showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, the campaign served as a visual history lesson, illuminating the faces and events that shaped queer progress.
In 2023, Skittles launched "Apologize the Rainbow" — a marketing campaign centered on the return of lime-flavored candy to their original mix.
The company released a video admitting their mistake in previously replacing lime with green apple, marking lime's restoration to the classic Skittles assortment.
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