With all due respect to the creative team at DDB Chicago, I did not and could not turn away from my beloved Eagles, and their win over the Patriots, to watch what was perhaps the most inventive spot that aired that night.
Of course, I am talking about the agency’s Super Bowl Skittles Spot for One that only Canoga Park, CA teen, Marcos Menendez, got to see. Last month, we reported on the bizarre 15-second teasers Friends’ actor David Schwimmer shot for the Facebook Live stunt.
As it turns it out, the idea was a pretty fabulous Facebook Live stunt that ran for 18 minutes as Facebook users watched Menendez get whisked off to a warehouse, in X-Files style, to watch the exclusive commercial.
In the video, Menendez, who tweeted about the stunt, saying it was “so amazing,” said the plot involved David Schwimmer, sporting a bowl cut, wandering around and shooting people with some kind of laser from his mouth. Anyone who was hit by the laser turned into Skittles.
DDB also personalized it in a way that surprised Menendez. A portion of the spot was filmed at Menendez’s own house and hang outs. Schwimmer appeared in his closet and on his favorite basketball court. Even Menendez’s best friend and mother appeared in the exclusive video.
Mother Menendez appears in a scene on a bus, where she was, in Menendez’s words, “mad dogging” Schwimmer, who was seated in the back of the bus behind an actor cast as Marcos. Schwimmer quickly shoots her with his laser beam, turning her into Skittles.
Rad.
As promised, we (the 103 million or so Super Bowl viewers) did not and will not ever get to see the spot, but the brand has released Menendez’s reaction video, which also contains clips:
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Personalizing a spot such as this for one person is certainly a memorable stunt that, while it worked, is a shame the entire world couldn’t witness it during the actual game.
With only about 30,000 views on Skittles YouTube Channel, it’s difficult to say the multi-million-dollar production was a super success. However, Menendez raved about it, saying, “it was one of the best commercials I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
So, in at least one Super Bowl viewer’s mind, DDB and Skittles has inarguably won the best spot during the game. In Reel Chicago’s mind, the agency also wins on intrigue, mystery and ingenuity.
Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.
