Hands up if you had Skittles weighing in on sensitive political and social matters this week? No one? We didn’t think so.
Yet here we are, with Skittles becoming a trending topic this week after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out an image comparing a bowl full of Skittles to Syrian refugees. At best, it’s an incorrect comparison. At worst, it’s kinda racist and dragging the good name of Skittles down into the mud where Skittles wouldn’t taste good.
This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
In case you can’t pick up on the message, Trump Jr. is echoing his father’s election promises to ban Syrian refugees from entering the country, even though 99.9999% of them are not a threat in any way. Luckily, Skittles crafted literally the perfect response, one that every social media manager of every brand name product should use as a lesson in “how to handle getting dragged into something you had no desire to be involved in.
From the Twitter account of Seth Abramovitch of The Hollywood Reporter:
A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016
Beautiful. Because apparently we needed a reminder that refugees trying to escape the dangers of their own country are not, in fact, candies. Bravo, Skittles.