Skittles Shows How to Escape a Witch’s Clutches in Its First Halloween Ad Since 2014

Hansel and Gretel, of course, turned the tables and sent their witch flying into her oven. And in a new ad for Skittles, another witch finds herself in a position that’s only slightly less infuriating.

The spot from DDB Chicago and production house Smuggler is the brand’s first official Halloween ad since 2014’s tale of a spider web baited with Skittles. That said, the candy sponsored one of parent company Mars’ 2017 “Bite Size Horror” vignettes, created specifically to run on Fox.

You can revisit the earlier spots below, but first let’s take a look at the new ad:

Chances are pretty good that you recognized the actor stewing in the witch’s jumbo stock pot. Thanks to his appearances in Stranger Things Season 3 and Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Matty Cardarople has become increasingly recognizable to streaming viewers.

But ad aficionados will also recognize him from several earlier Skittles spots, including 2014’s “Cloud” and last year’s teaser for the “Exclusive the Rainbow” Super Bowl ad shown to only one person. He’s also in the “OK Carnival” spot from AT&T’s ongoing “Just OK Is Not OK” campaign.

Here’s a look back at Skittles’ spider-themed Halloween ad from 2014 and its “Bite Size Horror” short, followed by credits for the new ad:

CREDITS:

Client: Mars Wrigley
CBU Lead: Debbie Lirow
Senior Brand Manager: Becky Duke
Senior Associate Brand Manager: Danielle Feinstein

Agency: DDB Chicago
CCO: Ari Weiss
ECD: Colin Selikow
CPO: Diane Jackson
CD: Nathaniel Lawlor
CD: Ruth Bellotti
EP: Matt Blitz

Director: Björn Rühmann
Production Company: Smuggler
Partner: Patrick Milling-Smith & Brian Carmody
EP: Allison Kunzman
Head of Prod: Alex Hughes

Producer: Donald Taylor
Prod. Supervisor: Jay Wintringer
Commercial Coordinator: Gillian Altman
Production Designer: Dave Duarte
Art Coordinator: Madeline Smurthwaite
Location Manager: John Hixson
1st AD: Chad Antonelli
2nd AD: Andrew Colón
DoP: Michael Gioulakis

Set Decorator: Amie Bordelon
Costumer: Janet Hasse
MUA: Tara Loren

Edit:
Hutch Co
Editor: Jim Hutchins
Post Producer: Jane Hutchins

COLOR:
The Mill – NY
Colorist: Nick Metcalf
Producer: Evan Bauer

VFX:
The Mill – NY
Producer: Luke Proctor
Artists: Corey Brown, Jamie Scott
Production Supervisor: Bethaney Phillips
Zu Al-Kadiri