Skittles Commercial

[Worn]

I know it's supposed to be funny but, it makes my stomach turn.  What do you guys think?  Worn
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/02/skittles-grow-on-trees-that-grow-on-humans.html

[Bettyanne]

I agree......Mother smiling as she controls son   I can remember being a kid and my mother controlled my every move to her liking. Yuck.........NO BOUNDARIES.....

[HeartofPilgrimage]

I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was sicko. I've been noticing that commercials are getting weirder and weirder ... I don't get how they are actually selling product with these weird commercials but they must be, since they continue to produce them.

[Logy]

Yes.  This is very sick.  Makes me wonder though, did a child of a narcissist write this?  Was it some image of what their life was like?  The people who write these things, after all, were once kids and had parents.

And, yes, commercials are getting very weird.  I can't think of one Super Bowl commercial this year that was memorable.  But I could name a few from 15 years ago.

Logy

[bearwithme]

That was really weird. I agree.  It's kinda gross.  Who writes this stuff?  It should be an SNL sketch not a commercial.

Too bizarre to be funny.

Bear

[Portia]

The mind boggles at what the makers thought they were doing. Apart from the sick mother/son thing going on....
who the heck wants to eat sweets that have grown out of someone's stomach?

Unless it's little boys who see the skittles tree boy as a figure of fun that they can take advantage of by eating skittles?

And as we're on adverts, what was going on in the Chanel Egoist commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ5a2JH_BVE
anyone?

[Portia]

Boy, am I slow. It took a couple of re-runs of the skittles ad through my head to see the sexual symbolism, and then it just gets gross. Mom laughing girlishly as the skittles rain down from the tree? Oh dear. Just what is this saying. Oh dear.

[Portia]

I hope it isn't only me that sees that   

[Logy]

Ok, Portia.  I didn't see it at first.  But with watching it again, it just makes my stomach turn.  I can't believe a company even approved this ad!

[Portia]

Thanks Logy. I want to ask all concerned with the ad, over the boardroom table, just what was going through your mind when you: had the idea; agreed to work on it; approve the ad etc. Wouldn't that be fascinating - if all could answer honestly, which I very much doubt. Yeah, it makes me sick too. Is it really not a spoof? Sometimes I think it's April 1st most days. Insanity.

[Worn]

I think the advertising people may have thought that the myth of the mom (that all mothers are caring, nurturing, supportive, sacrificing for their families) would be thought of by viewers.  That the only thing this mythical mom figure would go this crazy for is skittles.  Therefore if skittles can cause a mother to break this 'universal truth' they must be awfully good.  That's what I think they might be thinking.  Who knows tho lol.

For me tho, that is my mom.  She sacrificed her children for her own gain.  Knowing and never caring that she did so.  So, for me, not a funny ad. 

Portia, you're right about the sexual overtones, I didn't notice at first but that is downright disturbing.

Ugh, Worn

[Lollie]

Portia,

Okay, you asked for it. From the Boardroom....

From an advertising standpoint, the commercial has to resonate strongly with its target audience for it to air in the first place. It's hard to tell at first blush who that audience is--because the ad is basically revolting and certainly not aimed at women my age--but it's important to know that Skittles has the reputation of targeting teenage boys and stoners (pot smokers).

If this is indeed their audience, they would have filmed different versions of the commercial and shown it to focus groups consisiting of this target audience. The version of the commercial that performs the best with the target audience gets chosen and aired. And if the campaign is successful and Skittles sales increase, you can look foward to more of the same.

Have you ever seen those Burger King commercials with the King who acts all obnoxious and creepy? That commercial is targeted at 14-year-old boys. In fact, if you watch the commercials with a fresh eye, you may recognize some characteristics of an obnoxious 14- year-old boy in the King's behavior. Even though this commercial gives me and other adults nightmares, it has been an extremely effective ad campaign and boosted BK's sales in the target market. So we continue to get more of the King. Ugh.

[Portia]

Thanks Lollie
I want to ask them:

what were you really thinking when you had the idea: we'll have a skittles tree growing out of his stomach as a substitute penis which his mom is using to keep him at home, locked in her abuse.? etc Was it really the idea that your target group is obsessed with masturbation so we'll deliberately make an ad based on this idea?

Probably. Yeah that sounds about right. They know exactly what they're doing and they're employing psychs to advise no doubt.

I haven't seen the BK ads and don't want to!