Why this Skittles Mother’s Day ad was quickly taken off YouTube
One mother, one son, one umbilical cord, and one HUGE backlash...
In case you missed it, almost everywhere that’s not the UK celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday 14 May.
And this year, the annual mum-centric holiday brought with it this unusual Skittles advert - which is being called ‘unsettling’ and ‘disturbing’, among other things.
The basic premise: an adult man is attached to his elderly mum by a very visible, large, flesh-coloured umbilical cord, which is attached to his stomach and disappears under her dress. Therefore, when mum eats a Skittle, so does her son.
After enjoying a few different flavours, and expressing how much they like eating Skittles together, the son solemnly quips: “I miss dad."
Sounds a little bit off to you? Well, you can relax, because it was quickly pulled from YouTube after quite a bit of backlash and complaint.
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Secretly want to see what all the fuss is about? It’s still available online here…
We can certainly understand why many people felt this ad missed the mark, though Skittles’ parent company Wrigley says it was intended to be a ‘gross’ piece of dark humour.
“We made this video for every mom who likes gross jokes, and we’re taking it down for every mom who doesn’t,” said Wrigley US’ senior director of confections, according to AdWeek. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
Hmmm...
Have your say
What do you think of the ad - do you think it’s totally weird and inappropriate, or do you see the funny side? Perhaps you don’t mind the idea - but just find the umbilical cord a bit strange?
Let us know on Facebook, or in the comments below.
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