As a first time Super Bowl advertiser, Skittles aimed to increase sales while being one of the most talked about brands during the buildup to the game. The brand had robust plans in place for months, including in-store activation and PR amplification of the ad.

But two weeks before the game, those plans were turned completely upside down. Skittles’ best known fan, Marshawn Lynch, led the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Skittles had spent years amplifying Lynch’s lifelong love of its product, and his presence was too big an opportunity to ignore.

Aside from being the Seahawks’ best player, Lynch is widely known for two things: (1) Loving Skittles, and (2) not cooperating with reporters. Skittles fused these storylines by releasing what everyone wanted to see: A full, candid press conference where Lynch answered every question asked … by Skittles.

The interview – conceived, cast, filmed and edited in days – was conducted in Skittles’ quirky voice, but it hit relevant topics and offered a rare window into Lynch’s personality. It risked angering the media needed to share it, but outlets such as USA Today, the New York Times, ESPN and Today touted it. The buzz got so big that the Super Bowl broadcast opened with Lynch eating Skittles on the sideline, creating greater excitement around the brand’s Super Bowl ad, which aired moments later.

Skittles wound up one of the most-discussed brands, and it had the biggest four-week sales increase in its history to show for it.

1/18: Lynch’s Seattle Seahawks qualify for the Feb. 1 Super Bowl.

1/19-1/26: Video concept created; Lynch signed to participate; video shot and edited.

1/26: Video placed on YouTube, Facebook & Twitter around 9 p.m. EST and immediately shared with key media outlets, including ESPN and USA Today; posts are widely followed and shared.

1/27: On Super Bowl Media Day, Lynch makes national headlines by answering every single question with “I’m just here so I won’t get fined,” leaving Skittles as the only interviewer he’d cooperated with that week.

1/28: Skittles released limited-edition Skittles Seattle Mix packs via a local event promoted via social media and media outreach.

2/1: Super Bowl broadcast opens with Marshawn eating Skittles on the sideline. Brand posts throughout the game on social channels. Lynch scores first-quarter touchdown. Ad airs during the second quarter.

Output/Awareness:

• Coverage of the Marshawn Lynch Press Conference totaled 401 placements and 620 million impressions, accounting for more than half of the 1.19 billion impressions for Skittles Super Bowl program.

• The press conference was viewed 4.94 million times on YouTube, and 99% of views were organic/unpaid.

Knowledge/Consideration:

• Skittles posted the second highest increase in purchase intent, and the highest increase in Word-of-Mouth chatter, of any brand in YouGov BrandIndex’s annual Super Bowl study.

• Skittles had the No. 3 share of voice among brands during the week of the game (9%), according to Radian 6.

• Skittles was the No. 3 most mentioned brand online during the game and had “extremely positive” sentiment, according to Salesforce.com analysis.

Action/Business Output:

• Sales increased 19.2% during the month of January, the largest four-week sales increase in the brand’s history.