In downtown Washington, D.C., Skittles recently transformed their candy into an interactive event to promote their new limited-edition flavor created in collaboration with French’s mustard. The scene included hashtags, Instagram-ready backdrops, a game called Tang Toss, and an overall sense of manufactured whimsy. Some passersby looked on with curiosity, confusion, or pity, while others decided to join the line.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I became one of those individuals who joined the queue. As I waited, the line behind me continued to grow, creating a loop around the city square. People took photos and videos, occasionally exclaiming “mustard Skittles!” amidst the city’s noise.
This event exemplified a classic marketing stunt, complete with branded fanny packs and frisbees distributed alongside the mustard-flavored candies. However, it made me wonder who was actually doing the advertising here—the energetic staff in their yellow T-shirts or the people waiting in line? And why? These mustard Skittles are just one of many pseudo-snacks that have emerged, such as ranch-dressing-flavored ice cream and Velveeta-flavored martinis. They serve as spectacles and future TikTok trends, combining the skills of chemists with the demands of influencer culture. These products represent marketers’ ongoing efforts to blur the lines between paid and earned media. Unfortunately, their taste often leaves much to be desired.
However, the standout feature of these new Skittles is not their mustard flavor, but rather their limited accessibility. Skittles has taken the concept of “limited edition” to an absurd extreme, making it nearly impossible for the average consumer to obtain a packet. Unless you live near D.C., New York City, or Atlanta, your only other chance to get one is by winning an online sweepstakes.
These Skittles have become Schrödinger’s candy, as they are not meant to be eaten or sold. They represent a postmodern approach to marketing, relying heavily on the narrative. They were conceived in a conference room and created in a lab, with little consideration for their physical existence. Instead, their purpose is to generate discussions on social media, radio shows, and beyond. They aim to go viral and give the Skittles brand a glossy coating of relevance. Although these candies may have a new flavor, they are banal in every other sense. In their emptiness, they reflect a paradigm shift in marketing and the consumer-consumed relationship.
Early advertisements used to be practical and rational, focusing on the benefits of products. However, marketing has evolved to create aspirations and desires in consumers. Mustard-flavored Skittles do not fit into either of these categories. They are not actively selling themselves, nor are they attempting to generate cravings among potential customers. Instead, they treat consumers as potential advertisers, using long lines as a form of validation. If so many people are waiting for something, it must be worth the wait, even if it’s just a small bag of mustard-flavored candies. This process is even more pronounced online, where interest begets more interest, and trends beget more trends. Soon, Mars Inc. hopes that mustard Skittles will be omnipresent, despite their limited availability.
While standing in line for Skittles, I couldn’t help but think of Ada Louise Huxtable’s essay from 1997, where she discussed the artificiality infiltrating American civic spaces, particularly Las Vegas. Huxtable argued that in a place that prioritizes manufactured reality, the wonders of the world lose their authenticity and become sanitized spectacles. A similar phenomenon is occurring within our digital world, as it becomes detached from physical reality. This shift is changing the relationship between irony and earnestness, fandom and consumerism, and advertisements and society at large.
Previously, I approached advertising with skepticism and suspicion, aware of its manipulative nature. However, in the age of social media, where individuals are treated as brands and reality is often crafted for storytelling, this caution is fading away. The definition of consumption is evolving, which is evident in the blurred lines between consumer goods and their satirical representations.
In this context, the absurdity of mustard-flavored Skittles makes sense. These cheerful, brightly colored candies become adjuncts to the ongoing culture wars in America. They are easy to discuss and provoke visceral reactions. You may wonder what they taste like, and the answer is mustard. The texture of a Skittle hits before the flavor, with a horseradish-like sharpness followed by a familiar yellow-mustard taste and a burst of overpowering sweetness. Ironically, it reminded me of relish, which is not a compliment as I did not enjoy the experience. However, enjoyment is not the goal here. Instead, the focus is on creating content to share on social media platforms, turning these snacks into images, videos, stories, and tags that can garner likes and be monetized by brands.
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