3rd March 2009
Taste the rainbow
Skittles launched their new "website" yesterday, and it seems to be causing something of a stir, and definately a topic for debate. If you haven't seen the site, head over to skittles.com and have a look!
So, I thought I'd chuck my two pence in and give my thoughts.
A lot as been said about the "bravery" of the site (which if you haven't seen is basically a small amount of Skittles branding laid over a twitter search for the term). It should be noted that this type of thing has been done before. Modernista overlaid a Facebook group would be one instance.
The dictionary definition of "brave" as an adjective is:
- possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance.
- making a fine appearance
- Archaic. excellent; fine; admirable.
does the site possess any (or all) of these qualities? Well, yes. Kind of.
As a marketing tool, it allows people to write pretty much what they like on your home page. As I look at the page now, "Karguine" apparently hates Skittles. Yesterday someone said they tasted of "arse" (I'm not sure what arse tastes like personally, but each to their own).
If the guys at Skittles thought up this campaign without taking into account the abuse they may endure, then it is no more brave than it is foolish. If they thought "to hell with it", fair play.
Personally, I find it a lazy approach using someone else's media platform for yourself. It's a gimmick, jumping on the bandwagon of social networking, which doesn't really say anything about their product. My personal view, I'm not keen, I feel the execution could have been better. Even a simple drag and drop on the Skittle bar would have been something.
That said, its certainly raised awareness, of the website if not the brand. Will it get me to by Skittles, I doubt it. Will I post a link on twitter about this article and lure people here via SKittles own site. Damn right I will!