As one of the major household brands that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride, SKITTLES’ main goal was to amplify our strong support for the LGBTQ+ community in celebration of Pride 2023 in an authentic and meaningful way.
Beginning in 2020, SKITTLES gave up its iconic signature rainbow to spotlight the one that matters. In switching to grayscale packs and partnering with GLAAD, the brand highlighted the rainbow most important during Pride - the LGBTQ+ rainbow.
In 2023, SKITTLES expanded this idea and aimed to highlight the importance of LGBTQ+ stories in a time where queer literature is more being challenged than ever – knowing that stories and representation have the power to create community and generate empathy.
With the insight that audio content is essential for connecting with the US GenZ population coupled with the desire to amplify LGBTQ+ stories, SKITTLES created a multimedia Pride campaign that bolstered the brand’s ongoing mission to increase LGBTQ+ visibility and celebrate those within the community.
Our overall objectives for this program were to cement SKITTLES as an ally for the LGBTQ+ community and increase visibility for LGBTQ+ stories.
SKITTLES prioritized highlighting meaningful LGBTQ+ stories to increase visibility and try to generate understanding and empathy for the community through collaboration with Audible, Cameron Esposito’s QUEERY podcast, GLAAD and artists from the LGBTQ+ community.
Together, SKITTLES and Weber Shandwick identified five LGBTQ+ artists to craft special-edition Pride packs that reflected each artist’s story. The brand amplified each artist’s story through a meaningful, multi-pronged campaign featuring content and storytelling that shared these voices at a time that they needed to be heard more than ever.
Beyond the eye-catching special designs, SKITTLES added a QR code to all Pride packs that directed fans to a special page on skittles.com that housed a plethora of LGBTQ+ stories including: a free streaming collection on Audible, special episodes of Cameron Esposito’s QUEERY podcast that featured interviews with the artists who designed our packs, and stories of Pride shared by SKITTLES fans.
The site linked to a custom collection on Audible.com which featured stories from a variety of LGBTQ+ artists and storytellers. The collection was available to stream through May, June and July, bringing queer stories to anyone with a pack of SKITTLES and a smartphone. SKITTLES also partnered with actor and comedian Cameron Esposito to create Pride-themed episodes of her podcast to further elevate LGBTQ+ voices. Both of these partnerships were rooted in the original insight for this year’s Pride activation that the US GenZ population connects through and wants to hear audio content as well as the overall mission to increase LGBTQ+ visibility and celebrate the community.
Keeping visibility and authentic expressions of LGBTQ+ people at the heart of the program, SKITTLES made sure the program gave back to the community in a tangible way through a $100,000 donation to GLAAD, the brand’s fourth donation of that size in as many years. SKITTLES also sponsored the Newark LGBTQ Film Festival, Newark Pride and GLAAD Spirit Day.
There was a two-pronged approach across May and June. Kicking off in May, we launched this year’s Pride packs, shared stories about the LGBTQ+ artists who created them and announced our donation to GLAAD to generate initial excitement for this year’s packs and the artists’ stories. The second plus-up moment dove deeper into our partnerships and launched the Pride collection on Audible via the QR code on SKITTLES Pride packs. This second pulse gave something more material to the LGBTQ+ community, advocates and allies to further create connection and compassion. The campaign was bolstered by rich visual assets, branded content, in-store displays and an interactive microsite housing LGBTQ+ stories. This 360° approach ultimately drove maximum visibility for the campaign, and a visible show of support for the LGBTQ+ community.
This year was particularly unique and crucial to cement SKITTLES as an ally for the LGBTQ+ community due to an increasingly challenging atmosphere for Pride campaigns. Through our partnership with GLAAD, all messages and assets were vetted by experts in visibility and authentic representation. SKITTLES wanted to ensure the campaign was genuine and gave something purposeful.
Our overall objectives for this program were to cement SKITTLES as an ally for the LGBTQ+ community and increase visibility for LGBTQ+ stories.
SKITTLES showed our support proudly through a turbulent year for brand Pride campaigns and reaffirmed our commitment to tangible, authentic support for the LGBTQ+ community. This was noticed by several outlets as our 2023 Pride campaign was featured in AdWeek’s “These Brands Are Still Flying the Rainbow Flag for Pride Month,” CNET’s Best Pride Merchandise That Gives Back to the LGBTQ Community,” Best Products’ “The Best Pride Merch to Celebrate the LGBTQIA+ Community,” Brit + Co’s “All the Pride Collections That Aren’t Cringe in 2023,” Spoon University’s “How to Celebrate Pride With Your Heart & Stomach” and more.
The visibility for LGBTQ+ stories was also successful as the program garnered 1.5 thousand placements and 3.93 billion earned impressions in the United States as of August 1, 2023. Top-tier national and local outlets such as Mashed, Them, The Daily Meal, Good Day Chicago, KTLA, CBS Philadelphia and more shared the news of SKITTLES 2023 Pride campaign. The coverage also remained 98% positive/neutral sentiment as of August 1, demonstrating positive reception for the campaign despite a challenging atmosphere.
