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For years Cadbury’s marketing team was haunted by the success of its now iconic campaign “Gorilla.” Following the success of that 2007 spot, in which a gorilla plays drums to Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight, the Mondelez brand struggled for more than a decade to repeat the feat.
This led to numerous creative campaigns featuring inanimate objects suddenly dancing to a familiar upbeat song, from airport vehicles to clothing. Nothing worked to the same degree, although it came close with “Eyebrow Dance.”
After appointing creative agency VCCP in 2017, Cadbury embarked on a new mission of reconnecting with consumers through its creative, with a focus on “generosity” as a brand platform. It reintroduced the “there’s a glass and a half in everyone” phrase to underline that intention.
“It was making it intrinsic to the product, as well as being a purpose that was born from a truth of the past,” explained Clare Hutchingson, chief strategy officer for VCCP, reflecting on the brand’s Quaker heritage.
It is such a counterpoint to the advertising noise that’s out there with a really simple, emotional, heartfelt story.
Jonathan McCarthy, head of global brand, Cadbury
“It was also important in terms of thinking about this as a global campaign of finding a human truth that could transcend borders and connect with people, whether they were in Canada or Australia or India, and also a way to build a platform that would allow us to bring Cadbury into new markets.”
The resulting ads—from “Mum’s Birthday” to “Bus” and its recent Christmas campaign—have seen Cadbury reenergized as a brand that aims to make people feel better through its chocolate bars. Mondelez’s chocolate category reached $9.48 billion in revenue last year, second only to the baked goods and biscuits category, which earned $15.61 billion.
However, it is the most recent work, “Garage,” which is the fourth installment in the campaign, that is proving a distinct success, having been named Kantar’s Most Effective campaign in the digital and social media space.
It continues the theme of tugging on the audience’s heartstrings but in a deliberately unexpected way as the audience sees the muted interaction between a gas station attendant and a customer buying petrol while attempting to be friendly.
