Skittles' sophomore Super Bowl ad finds Aerosmith's Steven Tyler testing the singing chops of his creepy but game portrait-in-Skittles in this ad by Omnicom Group's DDB Chicago.

The idea began with the observation that people don't only eat Skittles but sometimes use the bright candies for art projects that they share on social platforms. "The creative has to start with a consumer truth," Matt Montei, senior director of confections and seasonal business for Wrigley, told Creativity before the game.

That led to the notion of somebody talking to a Skittles portrait, although it wasn't immediately certain that the person should be famous. 

"We start off with the script and if we think a celebrity can amplify the script, we'll use a celebrity," Mr. Montei said. "But we don't do it the other way around." In 2015, Skittles and DDB's equally weird Super Bowl commercial "Settle It" did not use celebrities, though the company used endorser and Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch in marketing efforts around the game.

For Super Bowl 50, Tyler "rose to the top," Mr. Montei said. "He loves Skittles. He is a pretty entertaining person himself. We think his image really fit the brand." The ad was shot in December 2015 near Tyler's house in Nashville but not in his own home, Mr. Montei said.

Skittles, part of NFL sponsor Mars Inc., posted the ad online on Feb. 2, the Tuesday before the game. On game day, it went up against Mars sibling Snickers ("Marilyn") and Nestle's Butterfinger ("Bolder Than Bold"). Mars must have been happy with the results: Less than four months later, it said it would return for Super Bowl LI.

Director: Andreas Nilsson. Production company: Biscuit Filmworks.

DDB chief creative officer: John Maxham. Executive VP/executive creative director: Mark Gross. Creative director/art director: Brian Boord. Creative director/copywriter: Chad Broude. Chief production officer: Diane Jackson. Senior VP/executive producer: Will St. Clair. Associate producer: Jakub Zajaczowski. Production manager: Scott Terry. Senior VP/integrated brand lead: Kate Christiansen. Senior VP/group strategy director: David Chriswick. Strategy director: Matt Mullen. VP/account director: Gwen Hammes. Global account supervisor: Erin Leahy. Global account manager: Liza Raser. 

Celebrity talent and music rights acquisition: Brad Sheehan, The Marketing Arm.

VFX/color: MPC L.A. Music/sound design: South. Audio/sound design: The Studio. Editorial: Whitehouse Post. Editor: John Smith.

BRAND: Skittles

YEAR: 2016

AGENCY: DDB

SUPERBOWL: 50

QUARTER AIRED: Q2