DDB China Group speeds up latest campaign for skittles’ targeting their young audience
In partnership with DDB China Group, Mars Wrigley Skittles has returned with a new iteration of its longstanding ‘Taste the Rainbow’ campaign, tapping into the power of China’s digital ecosystem to put its fun and quirky brand in front of a younger audience.
The campaign follows Skittles’ hugely successful ‘Acronym the Rainbow’ initiative featuring a viral video comprised entirely of people speaking in acronyms. The video, which hit the coveted Bilibili ‘Hot 100 Chart’ twice, set off a wave of real-time comments and user-generated content among China’s generation Z to drive sales growth and uplift in penetration across the country.
This time around, Skittles is returning with a ‘Speed up the Rainbow’ campaign that pays heed to shorter attention spans and viewers’ tendencies to fast-forward through video content. Among generation Z, it has become the norm to browse content at twice the speed. Determined not to waste their time, generation Z’ers typically decide within three seconds whether to watch a video, communicate in acronyms, prefer summaries of movies on TikTok, and pay money to skip ads. They are a tough target market for brands looking for airtime among a younger audience in China.
“Nowadays, it seems like everything in life can be done faster,” said Awing Chen, Executive Creative Director for Shanghai and Guangzhou at DDB China Group. “People watch video content at twice the speed, they want movie recaps in three minutes, make-up tutorials in four steps, and abs in five days! With this campaign, we’re leaning into this behaviour to give our fans faster ads too.”
Launched on Douyin at the end of April, the star of Skittles’ first-ever sped-up advertisement races through his dialogue at 32 times the speed of a regular ad which inevitably leaves an awkward pause at the end of the slot (see dialogue below). In keeping with Skittles’ mission to elicit curiosity about the world, the ad begs the question: If we do everything faster, how will we spend the time saved?
Proving the power of knowing your audience, the ad raked in more than 150 million views and positive reviews within ten days of its launch. Fans praised the ad for saving them time, and many shared that they not only finished watching the ad but also replayed it numerous times.
In 2021, DDB Worldwide launched its new ‘Unexpected Works’ methodology as a blueprint for all campaigns. Rooted in the belief that creativity is the most powerful when it’s unexpected, the methodology guides the ideation process at DDB agencies worldwide to create breakthrough creative work that drives business results. The methodology is credited with Skittles’ hugely successful run in China, where the global confectioner has leveraged cultural insights to break into the hearts and minds of Chinese consumers with unexpected work that continues to surprise and delight.
Advertisement English dialogue:
– This is a Skittles commercial. I know you’re in a hurry.
– So we’re 32 times faster.
– Skittles! Red, orange, yellow, green, purple candies.
– Five colours and five fruit flavours.
– Yummy!
– You’ve talked so fast, what will you do with the rest of the time?
– Speed up the rainbow, taste the rainbow!
