Skittles gives up the rainbow to honour the LGBT+ community because ‘only one rainbow matters’ during Pride
Skittles is dropping its rainbow for Pride (Instagram/Skittles)
Skittles is losing its colours next month to show its support for “the one rainbow that matters during Pride”.
In a reversal of the typical Pride campaign where brands briefly turn their logos rainbow-coloured, Skittles will be removing its rainbow entirely, turning both its candy and its packaging grey for the duration of Pride month.
Fear not, you’ll still be able to “taste the rainbow“, but all the focus will be on the LGBT+ rainbow instead. And for every pack purchased in the US in June, $1 will go to the LGBT+ advocacy group GLAAD (up to $100,000).
“This Pride month, Skittles is removing its rainbow, but replacing it with much-needed conversations about the LGBTQ+ community and a visible stand of solidarity,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a release.
“The funding that GLAAD receives from the Skittles Pride Packs will support our news and campaigns program, which tells culture-changing stories of LGBTQ+ people and issues across the media year-round.
“This year when many LGBTQ+ people will be unable to gather at large Pride events, it’s so important that brands, notables, and other allies find authentic and creative ways to show that they stand with our community.”
All-white Skittles led to racism row in the UK
While it’s the first time the initiative has been seen in the US, the ‘Give the Rainbow’ campaign is already well-established in the UK, Canada, and Germany.
In 2016, Skittles ran an ad telling Pride in London that it didn’t want to “steal your rainbow thunder,” adding that “only one rainbow deserves to be the centre of attention – yours.”
The campaign ran for a single weekend, but was so successful that Skittles received requests for the limited edition packs from around the world.
The following year they decided to run it for the entire month of June – but this time around the brand was dogged by criticism that using whiteness to denote equality was racist.
The backlash led to Skittles issuing a statement reassuring consumers that “any suggestion that this support for Pride is in any way racist is clearly wrong.”
