NEW WORK

DDB goes full crunch with surreal new campaign for SKITTLES POP’D

By Reel Chicago
April 23, 2025

What happens when chewy goes crunchy? According to DDB Chicago, the answer is an identity crisis—and they’re helping fans laugh (and scream) their way through it in the latest oddball campaign for SKITTLES POP’D.

Developed by Team OMC (DDB Chicago + Critical Mass) and brought to life by longtime comedy collaborator Harold Einstein, the new work takes SKITTLES into an ASMR-fueled alternate dimension—where eyebrows twirl, eyeballs gyrate, and emotions spin out in candy-colored chaos.

SKITTLES POP’D, Mars Wrigley’s latest innovation, was inspired by viral TikToks of fans freeze-drying their own candy at home. The new product brings that crunchy, intensely flavored experience to store shelves for the first time, offering a totally different texture—and stirring up surprisingly big feelings for longtime chewy SKITTLES loyalists.

At the center of the campaign is a hero :30 spot, where teens literally wear their conflicted emotions on their faces—half-ecstatic, half-horrified—as they bite into the new candy. Shorter :15 and :06 assets lean hard into Gen Z’s niche moods and TikTok-trained attention spans. Watch below:

“We know Gen Z is fluent in contradiction,” said Ashley Gill, VP of Brand and Content for Mars North America. “SKITTLES POP’D is a way to honor that duality—because feeling two things at once is deeply human, and also, deeply SKITTLES.”

Before launching into full surreal mayhem, the brand kicked off with a deadpan legal campaign titled “Legally Acknowledge the Rainbow”. From March 25 to April 18, fans were asked to sign an actual contract before trying the product—complete with fine print, a vision test, and even a Snapchat filter that let you sign with your tongue.

Mid-April saw the launch of the second (and weirder) phase: HelpTheresCrunchInMySkittles.com, an interactive microsite that lets users input two contradictory emotions—like “excited” and “betrayed”—and generates a personalized journey toward crunch acceptance. To date, the site has created more than 35,000 unique experiences.

Weird, Wild, and Wonderfully Chicago

For DDB Chicago, it’s another absurdist entry in a 20-year run of Taste the Rainbow campaigns—one that’s included everything from Super Bowl stunts to SKITTLES: The Broadway Musical.

“Change is hard,” said Colin Selikow, Chief Creative Officer at DDB Chicago. “Especially when it happens to something you love. So we didn’t fight that—we leaned in and made a campaign that helps you feel your feelings. Even if they’re crunchy.”

CREDITS:

BRAND: Mars Wrigley / SKITTLES