Skittles wanted to be considered during a season when more traditional candy typically takes over. In order to increase top-of-mind awareness, Skittles needed an idea that would not only compete against other holiday candy, but one that would cut through the clutter of all holiday advertising.
Armed with the insight that 75% of Canadians have been disappointed by at least one bad holiday gift in their lifetime, the brand and its agencies MediaCom, BBDO and Harbinger gave them the opportunity to trade those unwanted gifts for something sweet.
The team took an environment that most people are familiar with – a pawn shop – and put a Skittles twist on it, creating an experience so unpredictable that consumers needed to see it to believe it.
The "Skittles Holiday Pawn Shop" – a pop-up pawn shop in downtown Toronto - opened on Boxing Day 2015. For five days, thousands of customers brought in holiday items they didn't want to trade for what they did – packs of Skittle. Customers unable to visit the store could get their items appraised online and were given a coupon to get their Skittles payment in-store anywhere that Skittles are sold.
To promote the "Skittles Holiday Pawn Shop," the Wrigley brand began by seeding an online film, posting notifications of the shop opening in local newspapers, and engaging social influencers to help spread the message.
The excitement continued when the "Skittles Holiday Pawn Shop" was paid a visit by Canadian YouTube star Lilly Singh (aka iiSuperwomanii) who created a vlog post entitled "The Time I Went to Skittles Heaven."
More than 3,300 items were then donated to one of Canada's largest charities and over 52,000 packs of Skittles were distributed. SkittlesPawn.com saw more than 53,000 visits – which was 23% above estimates. Lilly Singh's video garnered more than 249,000 views. The Skittles Pawn Shop received 98 million earned media impressions via coverage from bloggers, influencers and media outlets such as Global News, CityNews, CP24, The Star, Huffington Post, Blog TO, The Edge 102.1, Indie88, CHUMFM and more. Lilly also appeared on Jimmy Fallon shortly after her appearance and gave a shout out to Skittles that was seen by millions globally.