Capitalizing on cats and candy, the public’s disdain for advertising and the love for Mentos-like quirkiness, Skittles, The Musical is a Super Bowl stunt from Mars Wrigley Confectionary and DDB Worldwide in lieu of an on-air ad during this year’s game.
Skittles The Musical
Instead of buying the usual big game ad time on the 53rd Super Bowl, Skittles will premiere a live, 30 minute all-new, musical in New York City February 3 starring Michael C Hall of Dexter fame. Proceeds from ticket sales for Skittles, The Musical, will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.
The Teaser: (since removed from YouTube)
Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical will be a one-show-only, 30-minute spectacle performed at The Town Hall in Times Square at 1 p.m. EST, the same day as the Super Bowl. Through song and dance, the musical will take a humorous, self-reflective look at consumerism and the ever-increasing pervasiveness of brand advertising.
“Skittles Commercial” the musical is written by playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Eno in partnership with DDB Worldwide and features a 17-person cast alongside Hall (listed later in the post).
Proceeds will go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a nonprofit organization that awards annual grants that help men, women and children in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., receive lifesaving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency assistance. Skittles will also match this donation.
Below is the song “Advertising Ruins Everything” from Skittles, The Musical, led by Michael C Hall and sung by the entire cast:
Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical features a book by Will Eno, book and lyrics by Nathaniel Lawlor, and music by Drew Gasparini. Sarah Benson, the artistic director of Soho Rep, will direct. Joining Michael C. Hall is Melvin Abston (The Little Mermaid, The Lion King), Max Chernin (Bright Star, Sunday in the Park with George), Ashkon Davaran (One Thousand Nights and One Day, Oslo), Lulu Fall (Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, Hair), Stephanie Gibson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cinderella), David Hess (Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd), Mylinda Hull (42nd Street, Sweet Charity), Miguel Jarquin-Moreland (Jersey Boys,, Grease), Howard Kaye (The Visit, Miss Saigon), Kathy Kneese (The Inferno Project: Limbo, Suicide is Forbidden in Sprintime), Raymond J. Lee (Soft Power, Groundhog Day), Julia Macchio (Flashdance: The Musical, A Room of My Own), Will Mann (Memphis: The Musical, Billy Elliot), Mike McGowan (The Book of Mormon, The Producers), Gayle Turner (Half Time, The Wiz), and Mark Zimmerman (Rocky, West Side Story).
Buy tickets here: https://www.skittlesthemusical.com
Link to all four tracks on the album on Spotify here
Other available souvenirs included a poster, a tee-shirt and a button:
#skittles #skittlesthebroadwaymusical #advertisingruinseverything
*For every ticket purchased for “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical”, Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, LLC will donate 100% of the purchase price less any third-party handling, convenience or other fees and taxes to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Your purchase is not tax deductible. For more information about Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, visit https://broadwaycares.org/
