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This brand made the most innovative Super Bowl ad that was never aired: Watch
Airing ad in the Super Bowl is one of the most ambitious project big brands undertake. Here is all about one of the most creative advertisement that never got aired
In 2019, Skittles, a subsidiary of Mars, made a bold move in its advertising strategy for the Super Bowl. Instead of airing a commercial during the game, the company chose to run a Broadway musical on the same day leading up to the event. The 30-minute live show was performed only for theatregoers Super Bowl commercials and never aired on TV or online.
DDB Worldwide, the advertising agency behind the campaign, pulled out all the stops to ensure the success of the musical. Broadway expert Patrick Milling-Smith, who won eight Tony Awards for production, was brought on board, and playwright and Pulitzer finalist Will Enol was hired to write the script. The musical starred Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame and a 17-member cast.
Watch the Skittles ad here
Skittles the Musical generated buzz as billboards appeared in Times Square, and tickets, priced similarly to a real Broadway show, sold out in 72 hours. All proceeds from the musical were donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and matched by Skittles. The behind-the-scenes recording of the show's main musical number, "Advertising Ruins Everything," was released a week before the performance.
The advertising team aimed to make the theatrical experience as realistic as possible, with vendors outside the theatre selling "unauthorised" Skittles Commercial T-shirts at half the price of the "official" shirts sold inside. The musical was set in a bodega, where audience members were invited on stage before the show to explore the shelves and make a purchase, with Skittles being the only item available for sale.
The musical was meta-theatrical, with a script full of self-deprecating humour and a plot that centred around Hall's anxiety over participating in a musical advertisement. The musical received positive reviews and created a buzz on social media with the hashtags #SkittlesTheMusical and #AdvertisingRuinsEverything.
In conclusion, Skittles' decision to run a Broadway musical instead of a commercial during the Super Bowl was a risky yet successful move that created a unique and entertainig experience for the audience.
The musical received significantly more media attention compared to a typical Super Bowl advertisement, garnering over 2.5 billion earned impressions, which is a staggering 25 times the audience reach of the Super Bowl itself.
Super Bowl 2023
Super Bowl 2023 is set to take place on Sunday, February 12th, at 6:30 pm ET (Monday, 13 February, 5:00 am IST). The game will be hosted at Arizona's State Farm Stadium in Glendale, located west of Phoenix. The stadium has a capacity of 63,400, with the ability to expand to 72,200 for large events like the Super Bowl.
The 2023 Super Bowl will showcase advertisements from some of the most prominent companies globally. Familiar names like Bud Light, TurboTax, WeatherTech, Squarespace, and E-Trade will air commercials, while fresh brands like Limit Break, PopCorners, and Downy will also be present.
Anheuser-Busch InBev's choice to abandon its category exclusivity has provided other alcohol marketers, including Molson Coors, Heineken, Rémy Martin, and Crown Royal, with new opportunities.
