Every year, a lot of funny commercials jump the gun and release early in an attempt to go pre-viral. It’s easy to see why a lot of companies go that route, but it completely eliminates the chance of winning the Super Bowl live telecast. Fortunately, Skittles didn’t take the chance and gave the world a pretty hilarious TV spot…



The key to a great commercial is to hammer home one theme in addition to the marketing. Obviously, the goal here is to hard sell Skittles, but beyond that, there’s enough time to get across one very clear idea. In this case, it’s that everyone in this town continually settles arguments by arm wrestling. It’s very easy to understand, and consequently, it allows for tons of wonderful background characters…

Like this guy…



And this kid…



And this baby…



And this dog…



I suspect more people are going to talk about the Kim Kardashian spot, the Budweiser puppy commercial or the Brady Bunch throwback, but because of its surprise and its clever nature, I think Skittles pleasantly surprised a lot of people.