A bright flash of purple took over Skittles’ social media for Spirit Day 2020, as the sweets brand joined GLAAD’s campaign against bullying. It also brought M&M’s into the effort, helping carry a message of support for LGBTQ young people from online feeds to Times Square.

Essential Takeaways

  • A first-time partnership: Skittles joined GLAAD as a Spirit Day partner in 2020, sharing supportive messages and turning its social media purple.
  • A Times Square moment: M&M’s joined the campaign online and in retail, with Spirit Day messaging appearing on its Times Square jumbotron.
  • A wider commitment: Skittles had also taken the Spirit Day pledge and released Pride packs without its familiar rainbow, donating a portion of sales to GLAAD.
  • A campaign with a serious purpose: Spirit Day began in 2010 to oppose bullying and show solidarity with LGBTQ youth.
  • Support mattered during the pandemic: Some young people were cut off from school LGBTQ groups or faced unsupportive homes, while calls to The Trevor Project’s crisis services sometimes more than doubled.

Skittles adds a purple splash to Spirit Day

The Skittles rainbow took a back seat to purple in 2020. As a first-time GLAAD partner for Spirit Day, the brand planned to turn its social media purple and share messages backing LGBTQ youth and standing against bullying.

The effort reached beyond Skittles’ own channels. GLAAD reported that the brand encouraged M&M’s to join in online and at retail, with campaign messaging appearing on the M&M’s jumbotron in Times Square. It’s a striking way to turn a familiar city landmark into part of a wider message of support.

What Spirit Day stands for

Spirit Day began in 2010, after high-school student Brittany McMillan encouraged people to wear purple in response to bullying and the deaths by suicide of young LGBTQ people. Over time, it grew from an invitation to wear one colour into a broad campaign involving organisations, businesses, schools, celebrities and public institutions.

The idea is simple: show LGBTQ young people they’re supported, while making a united stand against bullying. The Advocate’s history of the campaign traces how participation expanded over the years, while BroadwayWorld’s coverage of the 2020 event describes a coalition spanning entertainment, sport, business and advocacy.

The rainbow-free Pride packs had a purpose

Spirit Day wasn’t Skittles’ only LGBTQ-related initiative in 2020. During Pride Month, the brand released limited-edition packs without its signature rainbow, presenting the change as a way to give the rainbow back to the LGBTQ community.

According to a Mars Wrigley press release, proceeds from those packs resulted in a $100,000 donation to GLAAD. The move gave the familiar packaging a different look, while linking the product to a donation. Skittles also took the Spirit Day pledge, committing to stand against bullying.

Why visible support mattered in 2020

That year’s campaign landed during an especially difficult period for some LGBTQ young people. GLAAD and the Shorty Awards campaign profile described how school closures and learning from home could cut young people off from in-person LGBTQ groups, while some were living in unsupportive or abusive households.

The Trevor Project’s 2020 annual report offers further context: it says physical distancing and school closures left some young people isolated from positive connections and confined to rejecting or unsupportive homes. The report also describes crisis-service contact rising sharply after the pandemic began, at times to more than twice earlier levels. In that setting, a public message of acceptance could carry extra weight.

A campaign bigger than one brand

Skittles was one participant in a much wider Spirit Day effort. GLAAD listed corporate, community and civic partners, including Delta Air Lines, Kellogg Company, Target, Amazon, New York City organisations, Kirkland & Ellis, and the NBA and WNBA. The Shorty Awards profile says millions went purple on 15 October 2020, with more than 500 notable people taking part on social media.

That scale matters: a campaign against bullying can reach people through different places and platforms, not just one brand’s feed. And while a purple post can’t solve the challenges LGBTQ youth face, it can help make support visible.

A splash of purple is a small gesture, but it’s most meaningful when it comes with action and care.

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