Reflect the Rainbow

Doesn't the topic of this post sound familiar?



[Thanks You Tube!]
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Comment Posted 02/04/2009 - 10:55

Strangely enough, I’m not surprised that it would be a commercial for Skittles. I’ve always thought that the Skittles advertisements have always been rather funny in a bizarre, “what was that?” kind of way (remember the human piñata?)

I believe I have seen this commercial on television before, but it must have been the shorter, edited version. I only registered the fact that the tailor was yelling at this random guy in the mirror in a language that I didn’t recognize, so I really didn’t take much note of the ad at the time. But seeing this complete version is really interesting to me.

I wonder if people do recognize that the dialect that the man in the mirror is speaking is Tagalog (the native language of the Philippines), and that the tailor, despite their resemblance, is Thai. The difference is so subtle.

Was that a conscious decision of the advertisers? What were they trying to say by choosing two ethnicities/languages? Were they hoping that people would/not realize the differences?

I think I get it now. The title of the advertisement is “Reflect the Rainbow.” Does that mean that the tailor isn’t yelling at a stranger who happens to be inside a mirror (huh?) but is actually yelling at “himself?” His reflection is a completely different ethnicity! Is this Skittles way of making social commentary on racial diversity?

Many can commend the advertisement for finally providing representation for Filipinos, but does it really? The fact that the two characters are bantering back and forth misleads one to believe that they are of the SAME ethnic group and therefore, a lot can get lost in translation. I get it because I do understand Tagalog. Hopefully, for the non Thai and Tagalog speakers, they don’t get too confused by the language barrier. (I’m sure many people did not bother to look up what the two men are actually saying.) And I can’t decide whether I appreciate the way the Filipino and Thai man are depicted in the commercial in the first place. Can people really take them seriously? “Angry Asian men” aside, it is a funny ad. So, whether or not people recognize the Filipino-ness, at least it’s being projected in a humorous and positive way.