Skittles believe that during Pride there is only one rainbow deserving to be seen, so every year they relinquish the rainbow and turn packs white.

Six years ago, this was ground-breaking.

But context changes everything.

Fast forward to today and the rainbow has been hi-jacked by 100s of brands, with many LGBTQ+ people accusing brands of ‘rainbow-washing’ - using Pride purely for commercial gain without giving anything back to the community.

Skittles’ natural association with the rainbow has not left them untarnished, with some in the LGBTQ+ community suggesting removing the rainbow from packs was tokenistic.

Skittles had to bring ground-breaking authenticity back to their LGBTQ+ campaign just as they had originally.

Demonstrating that Skittles is THE brand that genuinely supports the LGBTQ+ community would help ensure the future viability of the brand in the UK with Gen-Z.

Now was the time to bring LGBTQ+ history into present day with an interested and culturally primed Gen-Z to cut through rainbow-coloured Pride noise.

The history of the past would allow us to authentically connect with the LGBTQ+ youth of today as the histories and futures of the LGBTQ+ community are intertwined with often invisible connections which run deeper.

The brilliance of the drama ‘It’s A Sin’ was that it added life, personality and COLOUR to historical events.

What if Skittles could do the same in recognition and support of the LGBTQ+ community and add COLOUR and personality to missing LGBTQ+ history before it was lost and forgotten forever?

The strategic inspiration was using the Skittles rainbow in a unique way to create colourful historic archives that didn’t previously exist to connect the today’s youth and future youth to the ‘community shaping history’ of the past.

We partnered with Gay Times, Switchboard (LGBTQ+ charity founded 1975), and Queer Britain (creating the first LGBTQ+ museum).

Skittles re-coloured B&W Pride photos from the Queer Britain archive, lovingly giving life to history. Displayed at Pride, they created an authentic, provocative counterpoint to rainbow-washing.

Skittles meticulously researched these photo’s incredible stories showcasing them in Gay Times’ Pride edition. Furthermore, readers were invited to share B&W Pride images for Skittles to re-colour preserving more history.

Switchboard’s work has saved LGBTQ+ lives. Skittles created display ads, donating media space to the charity, and preserved “Switchboard’s History” in a Gay Times zine.

A four-part content series with Gay Times - ‘Intergenerational Conversations’ - paired younger and older LGBTQ+ people discussing life then and now. Femi Otitoju (a Black lesbian activist in a re-coloured photo) featured, as did Switchboard volunteers creating a symbiotic system.

Everything was donated to Queer Britain, growing the historic archives.

The LGBTQ+ community have spent 88 days’ worth of time delving into queer British history with the content.

Sentiment has been overwhelmingly positive:

‘Skittles seems to be one of the only brands that cares about the LGBTQ+ community and being genuine about it’

‘Thanks @uk_skittles for sponsoring this queer publication. We really appreciate the support’

‘Love this so much. Thank you for sharing a slice of lesbian black history’

The campaign reached 10 million+ people, helping Skittles to its fifth consecutive year of growth, with sales up 17% during the campaign and 5% across the year.

Most importantly, the campaign had positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community, with LGBTQ+ Switchboard receiving 15% more contacts and 25% more conversations - the highest ever.

“The age of people reaching out to Switchboard are now in the majority under 30, almost certainly due to the campaign” – Natasha, Switchboard co-chair.