Candy brand Skittles has come under fire after teaming up with GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and making changes to its packaging to incorporate 'Black Trans Lives Matter' messaging.

Skittles's famous advertising slogan “Taste the Rainbow” urges consumers to experience a cross-sensory perception – to taste colours that can literally only be seen. Association has been a common persuasive technique used in many advertisements.

Skittles' "taste the rainbow" theme was created by the New York ad agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles.

Skittles In 1947, the slogan was 'Taste the rainbow of fruit colours' and the essence of this has been carried through every single Skittles campaign since, although now it has been shortened to just 'Taste the rainbow'.

We will donate $1 per every SKITTLES Pride pack sold to GLAAD in support of their ongoing efforts to work through media to combat anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Nine years ago, Skittles took away its Lime flavour, which upset a lot of Skittles fans. To finally re-launch Lime, DDB Chicago decided to use something unusual for a brand: all of the online anger and hate directed at the brand. Skittles apologised to all 138,880 people who complained – individually.

Skittles apologised to all 138,880 people who complained – individually. The brand offered personal apologies live on Twitch, on Twitter, in Times Square, and with a post listing every single personal it had wronged, which took over ten hours to read. And it wasn't just an empty apology.

According to an article on the history of candy from Penn State University, Skittles were first produced in the U.K. in 1974. The hard-shelled candies with a chewy inside landed in the U.S. in 1979 and got their "Taste the Rainbow" slogan in 1994 from an advertising agency in New York City.

1994 Developed and launched by New York advertising agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in 1994, 'Taste the Rainbow' is one of the longest-running advertising campaigns ever. To date, there have been north of 40 'Taste the Rainbow' commercials made.

Benefits of eating the rainbow Simply put, eating the rainbow involves eating fruits and vegetables of different colors every day. Plants contain different pigments, or phytonutrients, which give them their color. Different-colored plants are linked to higher levels of specific nutrients and health benefits.

Artists Zipeng Zhu, Symone Salib, Mads 'Mady' G, Bianca Xunise, and Shanée Benjamin sit down with Cameron Esposito to discuss how they found their way to their artistic careers, seeing their artwork on Skittles, and the joy they've felt during Pride.

four-year "The SKITTLES brand is proud to continue our four-year partnership with GLAAD and introduce new collaborations this year with Audible and Cameron Esposito, to help uplift and provide visibility to the LGBTQ+ community," said Gabrielle Wesley, Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Wrigley North America.