Skittles & The Weird pt. 4

Don't forget part 1, part 2, and part 3 of this series.

For the final part of this Weird Skittles series, I wanted to first say a few things about the Skittles commercials that I don't like so much.

The kind of "weird" in these commercials isn't a very meaningful, poignant, or relatable kind of weird. Therefore, I'm not a big fan of it. Essentially, this kind of weird is about surprising the audience by showing the unexpected. Unfortunately, like so many jokes, the value/effect of the commercial wears off over time and after repeated viewings.

• In the sheep boys commercial, the two sheep boys discuss the unconventionality of the blended flavors in the Smoothie Skittles while unadmittedly represent two uniquely blended creatures. The farmer at the end tells she sheep boys to "stop that jibberjabberin;" a line that entertains but offers little to no real substance.

• Mr. Extreme in the commercial above is all about shock value. He looks crazy, wears an albino boa constrictor, rides a tiger elephant, and wields a flame staff. Somehow this man enters the scenario, and he leaves abruptly on a helicopter. I can't think of any common life experiences that I can relate to the events in this commercial. I think the only take away is that the Skittles are extreme and so was the weird style.

• The elements in this tropical Skittles commercial never came together for me. A random rainbow in the hallway becomes a portal to a tropical island where a strange and friendly man shares some of his candy. After the boy gets the Skittles with the "three new flavors" he leaves the rainbow portal only to find a girl waiting for him back in the hallway. How is any of this relevant or similar to common life experiences? What's the message of the commercial? I don't know.

Now I'll close out this series with 2 good commercials. The difference should be clear.

• The message in this one is simple. Don't judge people by their looks. When the office worker hit the piñata man with a bat, he was simply acting under the principles of "form fits function." While this principle is essential in video games, it doesn't directly apply to life. Discrimination is an ugly thing.

• This commercial plays off of the mysteriousness of dreams. To get away from his current classroom situation, the boy drops a handful of Skittles into his mouth. The candy wisks the boy off into a day dream like place. In the dream, the boy impresses the angel with his ripping muscles (literally). Unfortunately, the Skittles effect wears off and the boy snaps out of his day dream. Eager to continue where he left off, the boy quickly gobbles down another handful of Skittles. This time things are different. The angel flexes her incredible muscles right back and they form a majestic rainbow power fist together. Like with real dreams, it's hard to resume a dream after being woken up. Such is life, like Skittles; different every time we try. 

And that does it for Skittles & The Weird. I hope you got something colorful out of these mini analyses.

If you have any commercials you would like my feedback on, feel free to send them my way.

Skittles & The Weird pt. 3

Don't forget part 1 and part 2 of this series.

• This commercial is a wonderful piece of visual storytelling and film making. The presentation of the key elements and subject matter are very clean.
• The commercial opens with an establishment shot of two young men making an informal trade in a back yard. From the start we can hear poor opera singing, but we don't know exactly where it's coming from until the next few shots. Singing. The bunny is singing. Both boys seem to be quite satisfied with the trade.
• Some time later, indicated by the change in weather and daylight conditions, the situation looks grim for the now bunny owner. Since the beginning of the commercial, the bunny hasn't stopping poorly singing. And now, it my be getting on our nerves, but the bunny's charm has definitely worn off on the new owner.
• Remember that terrible feeling you get for trying to force a "trade-backsies" on your friends back in the day? That terrible situation and feeling is reflected by the pouring rain that soaks the bunny owner as he scampers back looking to return things to the way they were. That's when he sees the Skittles boy through the window eating the Skittles. Dim lights. No TV on. Just eating Skittles as if they were the only source of enjoyment in the world (besides a singing bunny of course).
• As Mr. Skittles bites into the candies, in the next scene the bunny decides to bite into his new owner. If you thought the situation couldn't get any worse, now the boy is bit, the bunny is gone, and the story ends in the rain. "Treasure the Rainbow." The lesson of the story is we must must hold onto the things we value in life. The best part of it all is, the singing bunny could have been anything and the message would have still been pretty clear. That's one of my favorite kinds of weird; where despite an element being "extraordinary" the story and the way people relate to it is quite ordinary.

• A Skittles leak. It doesn't matter where the Skittles come from. And it doesn't matter that the ceiling is leaking Skittles. The point is, the apartment man doesn't want Skittles all over his floor.
• The repair man "fixes" the problem by fastening handle bars into the ceiling and hoisting up a tiny man who's job is to hang there and eat the Skittles as they fall. Now there are two weird/out of the ordinary elements in the commercial. The apartment man questions the repair man's methods. The repair man reaffirm his methods and laughs along with his tiny coworker. 
• The apartment man is not happy about the whole situation. With his arms crossed (closed off, defensive, and skeptical body language) we can infer that the apartment man is wary of being ripped off by repair men. After this repair man "fixes" the problem in a few seconds with a questionable method and then laughs about it, we're left feeling a little cheated. One might think "the apartment man could have just eaten/caught the Skittles himself." Perhaps he should have. Depending on how you look at it, the apartment man didn't have a problem in the first play.

• This is one of my favorite Skittles commercials. 
• Though the commercial doesn't have any visual metaphors or film storytelling techniques worth talking about, I wanted to point out that it does raise the question of "what is awesome." The girl brings her friend, Joel, to the back of the store to show him Tim's special ability. After witnessing the stapler turn into Skittles Joel says, "that's awesome."
• Tim questions how awesome his ability is: "Is it awesome." Tim continues by explaining how different his life is because of his ability. He can't hold his baby. He can't dress himself. And he's a danger to those around him; "He'll never see his family again." All the while, Joel and his friend eat the "stapler Skittles" only slowing down once they realized how some blessings can actually be curses.
• Empathizing and relating to other's plights can be tricky. To Joel and his friend, having more Skittles is a good thing. This is the attitude that most have initially to the chocolate touch as well.  But the tone becomes quite dark when the "crippled/handicap" Tim expresses his rage and destroys his work desk. Yet the whole thing is rainbow sugar coated at the same time. I don't know whether to feel for Tim, or to go out and buy more Skittles. And that's the weirdest part of it all.

Skittles & The Weird pt. 2

Don't miss part 1 of this series.

• Skittles commercials often play upon the common expectations that are created when a boy and girl are put together on screen. It seems like TV writers think that we want every boy and girl to fall into a relationship with each other. In this commercial, a boy is approached by a girl inquiring about Skittles Bubble Gum. It is not uncommon to read into the request for gum as an invitation for the boy to show the girl some kindness, get to know her better, and perhaps enter a relationship.
• Just as nonchalantly as the boy informs the girl that his candy is indeed Skittles bubble gum, "Yup," he refuses her invitation; "Nope." The boy seems to be unaffected by the the girl's charms or the social pressure of sharing with others when they ask for something politely. And as a visual metaphor for the boy's aloof powers, he blows a bubble and floats away clearly weighed down by nothing.

• This one is simple. We've all found ourselves in a situation where we desire an item that's only available for some extreme price. Movie theaters, sport stadiums/arenas, the air port are notorious for "ripping people off" in this way. There's nothing wrong with raising one's prices. Our competitive market does a good job of keeping some things like candy reasonably cheap. But we love to pay for convenience. We love vending machines not just because they offer us a drink. We love them because they offer us a cold drink in an area where cold drinks aren't so easy to come by.
• So setting up shop on a cloud may seem like a ridiculous idea, but for the purposes of this Skittles commercial, it's an apt visual metaphor that reminds us of what it feels like to put a value/price on convenience. 

• This commercial features a visual metaphor for arrogance. From the details in the commercial, we can't be sure what the job this man is applying for entails. We don't know who the Skittles belong to or if they were offered during the interview. All we know is that this man is good for the job, but not good enough. Throughout the interview the man seems more occupied with eating Skittles using his beard that what's being said; "That's nice."
• When the woman tells the man that he needs more experience, he interrupts her by first feeding her a Skittle and then gently caressing her face all using his beard. This move isn't quite sexual harassment. It's just rude, in a weird way that only a Skittles commercial can pull off. The the man then proceeds to throw a Skittle in his mouth, which is a act of even more confidence/arrogance. This many thinks his beard skill is enough to get jobs and win over people, and he's not shy about it.

 More Skittles commercials coming soon.