Skittles & Elijah Wood "Live" Super Bowl Commercial 2026

A promotional graphic set against a blue sky with rainbow borders features an open delivery takeout box floating in the clouds. Inside the box is a collage of items including Elijah Wood's head wearing a unicorn horn, a Gopuff delivery bag, a film camera, a boom mic, and packs of Skittles. The text overhead reads "SKITTLES BIG GAME COMMERCIAL," and the text at the bottom reads "OUT FOR DELIVERY FEBRUARY 8TH." — Source: PRN

NEWARK, N.J. — Skittles has officially opted out of the $7 million broadcast ad buy for Super Bowl LX. Instead, the Mars Wrigley confectionary brand announced on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, that it will perform its “commercial” live, in person, for a single household.

Starring Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings, Yellowjackets), the campaign is being billed as the “first-ever commercial delivered to your doorstep.” On Game Day—Sunday, February 8, 2026—Wood will arrive at the home of one contest winner to perform a script live, likely in character as a “magical creature” summoned by a horn.

The stunt is a partnership with instant delivery service Gopuff, emphasizing the brand’s focus on “on-demand” gratification.

How It Works

To enter for a chance to win the in-person performance, fans must visit DeliverTheRainbow.com or purchase a “Skittles Big Game Bundle” via the Gopuff app. The sweepstakes is positioning the prize not just as a celebrity meeting, but as an “unskippable” ad experience—a playful jab at the modern viewer’s habit of ignoring traditional commercials.

Gabrielle Wesley, Chief Marketing Officer for Mars Wrigley North America, explained the strategy:

“Skittles has always delivered deliciously perplexing experiences to fans, but this year we are bringing the unexpected to fans on game day. We’re redefining what a game day ad can be with a never-before-tried approach: delivering its ad straight to someone’s house.”

Elijah Wood expressed his own enthusiasm for the brand’s historically odd marketing tone:

“I am a huge Skittles commercial fan. For a very, very long time, I’ve loved their ads,” Wood said. “I’m excited to bring the ‘Taste the Rainbow’ experience to a fan’s doorstep in a way that’s never been done before.”

A History of Anti-Advertising

This campaign continues Skittles’ decade-long tradition of subverting Super Bowl advertising norms. Rather than competing for airtime, the brand often creates “exclusive” events that generate buzz through PR rather than reach.

2018: The brand created a commercial shown to only one person (a teenager named Marcos Menendez), while the rest of the world watched a livestream of his reaction.
2019: Skittles staged “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical,” a one-night-only live production starring Michael C. Hall, which sold out a theater in New York City instead of airing a TV spot.

Actor Elijah Wood sits in a worn brown leather recliner in the middle of a school hallway lined with blue lockers. He is wearing a bizarre, full-body furry brown costume with a spiral unicorn horn on his forehead. He holds two bags of Skittles on his lap and looks directly at the camera with a deadpan expression. A tray table with leftover food sits next to him. — Source: PRN

Why It Matters

By partnering with Gopuff and utilizing Elijah Wood for a single-home “broadcast,” Skittles is effectively sidestepping the skyrocketing cost of Super Bowl media inventory (now topping $7 million for 30 seconds).

The “Why It Matters” here is two-fold:

The “Unskippable” Ad: In an era of second screens and ad-blockers, Skittles is making a meta-commentary on attention. A celebrity at your door cannot be “skipped” or “muted.”
The PR Play: Like its predecessors, this stunt is designed to generate earned media (news headlines) that outweighs the reach of a paid 30-second spot. It transforms advertising into a news story, leveraging Elijah Wood’s cult fandom to drive social conversation before the game even starts.