cadbury advertising
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CADBURY CADBURY
ADVERTISINGADVERTISING
• John Cadbury always had a flare for advertising and a special eye for promotion: right from the beginning when he opened his shop in Bull Street, in Birmingham, he decorated it with an expensive plate glass window, instead of the usual 'bottle glass' panes. He also employed a Chinese man to serve in the shop wearing full national costume, which would have been a huge novelty at the time. Those things got lots of attention from the public who passed by.
• He published in 1824 his first ad in the Birmingham Gazette. • 'John Cadbury is desirous of introducing to particular notice
"Cocoa Nibs” prepared by himself, an article affording a most nutritious beverage for breakfast.'
A campaign based on product purity.
• Early advertising for the groundbreaking 1866 product, Cocoa Essence, talked about its strength, lack of starch and lower fat content. But it was only when Cadbury chose to stress just one aspect of the product - a unique selling proposition in today's terms - that Cocoa Essence really became successful.
• During this period there was a lot of concern in Parliament about the adulteration of food - adding cheap, unwanted ingredients to increase profit margins. A bill had been passed to try and stop it in 1860, but cocoa still presented problems.
• Cadbury advertising stressed how pure the product was and used medical testimonials: for example:
• 'Cocoa treated thus will, we expect, prove to be one of the most nutritious, digestible and restorative of drinks' - British Medical Journal
• All these thoughts were marvellously summed up in one slogan 'Absolutely Pure, therefore Best' which became a thirty-year advertising campaign.
• As well as their paid-for advertising, Cadbury got lots of free publicity during the discussions, and sales increased dramatically.
• From around 1900 Cadbury produced some of the finest examples of posters and press advertisements during this period. A popular local artist, Cecil Aldin, was commissioned to illustrate them. His images were used on sites throughout the country and in early magazine campaigns.
1902 - Bournville factory tours
• After the First World War Cadbury invested more into their Visitor’s Department with hugely popular scheduled railway excursions.
• A staggering 150,000 people were taking the tour by 1938; Cadbury believed it was essential, giving people a lasting link to the business and its products. George Cadbury even used to walk around handing out roses to Women’s Institute and Mother’s Union members.
1920 - Price drop ads begin
• Rising volumes and falling transport costs meant that the prices of Cadbury products dropped significantly in the 20s and 30s.
• Cadbury passed these savings on to the customer, seeing no problem in offering a high-quality product at a good-value price. From this time onwards these two attributes - plus Cadbury’s status as the nation’s leading brand - formed the cornerstones of the company’s advertising.
1920 - The Chocolate Mystery Man
• Between the wars promotional work was paramount. At seaside resorts a 'Chocolate Mystery Man’ would roam around - if you showed him a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk you’d win a prize. Cadbury vans selling hot cocoa and Bournvita would turn up at busy public events
• All these activities did wonders for sales and meant that people felt they had a very personal relationship with Cadbury. It was the early days of what people today call 'experiential marketing’: finding ways to give people a one-to-one relationship with brands.
1928 - Investment begins in Cadbury Dairy Milk ads
• A huge success from day one, Cadbury Dairy Milk first hit the shelves in 1905. But surprisingly, little money was put into advertising it until 1928.
• No one knew quite what to say about it - some ads talked about its 'rich nutty flavour’ others said 'rich in cream’. It didn’t matter though - by 1928 it was the biggest selling chocolate product in Britain.
• At this point Cadbury ploughed investment into advertising, stressing its high milk content. From 1928 a series of poster campaigns using the iconic 'glass and a half’ measure of milk established Cadbury Dairy Milk as one of the first truly recognisable brands on the high street. The 'glass and a half’s simple message of food value combined with enjoyable eating has found its way on to TV ads and wrappers. And it’s still there today - becoming synonymous with Cadbury Dairy Milk worldwide.
1935 - 500,000 people see a Cadbury film
• During the 1930s four cinema units toured the country, showing state-of-the-art specially-commissioned films in cinemas and town halls. The first full-length sound film made for advertising appeared, and half a million people saw a Cadbury film in 1935.
1936 - The Cadbury Cococub Club
• Cadbury Cococubs appeared in the 1930s. These hand-painted characters, designed by commercial artist Ernest Aris, were rather like Beatrix Potter’s, with names like Mrs Cacklegoose and Granny Owl.
• Initially included in tins of Bournville and then subsequently collected with coupons, there were 32 of them to collect, and they even had their own daily comic strip in the national and provincial press, and also in the Radio Times. A Cococub Club ran from 1936 until 1939.
1939 - The outbreak of war
• During the Second World War, cocoa and chocolate were seen as essential supplies and under Government control. Milk supplies were needed to drink, so Cadbury Dairy Milk came off the shelves, a situation announced in ads at the time. Other wartime ads were for Cadbury’s Ration Chocolate, made with dried skimmed milk powder because of the lack of fresh milk.
1945 - Post-war promotions
• After the War, Cadbury continued in their promotional work, giving out hundreds of samples as well as organizing cookery demonstrations and opening Chocolate Houses, which were like coffee bars but centred around chocolate.
1955 - TV advertising begins• Commercial television began
broadcasting on September 22nd 1955. Cadbury Drinking Chocolate was one of the very first adverts to appear.
• Many products were produced at comparatively small volumes and weren’t really suited for the new medium. So Cadbury concentrated on a more generic message, showing a cut-down version of a 1951 film, 'The Bournville Story’, when commercial TV arrived
1957 - 13 one-minute travelogue ads made
• August 31st 1957 saw the premier of 13 one-minute films: each one a travelogue describing the harvesting of an ingredient used at Cadbury. On the same night Adrian Cadbury, grandson of George, was interviewed about the films during the interval of 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium’.
1959 - First Flake Girl appears
• A clip from the ad was also shown in a 1999 ad celebrating four decades of sultry Flake Girls.
1968 - The first Milk Tray Man ad
• This action hero piloted helicopters, dived off cliffs and drove speedboats, all to leave a box of Milk Tray chocolates for a lucky lady, along with his calling card of course.
Play ad
1970 - A glorious decade of TV advertising
• The 1970s was a golden age of television advertising, with hugely popular campaigns for Flake, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut and Whole Nut, Fry’s Turkish Delight, Fudge and Milk Tray.
• With just one UK commercial channel (and way before the advent of other distractions like computer games and the internet), TV held the undivided attention of the British public. It was a hugely powerful medium and turned Cadbury products into the UK’s most famous brands.
• Flake, with its long-running campaign of sultry 'Flake Girls’ enjoying their chocolate alone, was one of the biggest winners, with sales growing to four times previous figures. Anyone who grew up in the 70s will also remember the much-loved ads for Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut ('Everyone’s a fruit and nut case’), and Whole Nut ('NUTS whole hazel nuts, Cadbury take them and they cover them with chocolate’). Between 1970-74 sales of these two products increased by 73%.
1980 - More memorable TV advertising
• By the 1980s, Cadbury were on a roll with TV advertising. Success followed success - think of the Caramel Bunny, Fry’s Turkish Delight’s mysterious desert maidens and the 1983 campaign for Wispa.
• Character actress Miriam Margolyes provided the dulcet tones of the animated Cadbury Caramel Bunny, who mesmerized her friend Mr Beaver, suggesting he 'Take it easy with Cadbury’s Caramel’.
• Cadbury Creme Egg’s long-running campaign 'How do you eat yours?’ began in 1985, and over the years featured zodiac signs, Spitting Image puppets and the comedian Matt Lucas.
1983 - Launch of Wispa national ad campaign
• Wispa used the power of celebrity to create impact: Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Victoria Wood, Julie Walters, Peter Cook, John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe were some of the comedians and comic actors who talked about it in a series of ads. A teaser campaign in the press asked 'Have you heard the Wispa?’ - but didn’t divulge that they were ads for a new chocolate bar
Play ad
1990 - Cadbury World Opened • Factory tours had always been
popular but it was impossible to run a factory smoothly if it had thousands of visitors. In 1988 Cadbury began planning a visitor attraction to take the place of the factory tours - Cadbury World.
• It cost £6 million to build, but was worth the expense. In 1990 Cadbury World opened in Bournville on a site next to the Cadbury factory and headquarters, attracting 350,000 visitors in its first year - 100,000 more than were expected.
1996 - Cadbury begin sponsoring Coronation Street
• Cadbury’s sponsorship of Coronation Street began in 1996, a total package worth £10 million. There were Cadbury 'bumpers’ at the beginning, middle and end of every episode of the popular soap.
• So a captive audience of 18 million people saw Coronation Street recreated in chocolate with a purple Cadbury’s sky and the familiar 'glass and a half’ of milk icon.
• At the time, it was a more effective way of reaching the target audience than trying to use the £10 million budget across 17 of the most important Cadbury brands. The strategy was so successful that it lasted 11 years.
2007 - ‘Gorilla’ premiers
• 'Gorilla’ showed the eponymous primate enthusiastically playing the drums on the Phil Collins record 'In the Air Tonight’. It proved hugely popular and cleaned up at advertising awards ceremonies, winning many prizes including the prestigious Grand Prix Lion at Cannes in 2008. Play ad
2008 - Creme Eggs come alive
• Cadbury Creme Eggs became living, moving creatures whose mission in life is to splat their goo using whatever they can find in their environment.
• They also have a new alter ego: Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted - a chocolate bar filled with goo. It’s the egg’s naughty twin - a mischievous little monster who creates chaos by lobbing its goo around.
Play ad
2009 - ‘Eyebrows’: The latest TV ad
• Shown on TV and all over the internet, 'Eyebrows’ has gained millions of fans and a host of tributes including one featuring singer Lily Allen and comedian Alan Carr.
Play ad
Play Lily Allen ‘ad’’
2009 - Digital advertising• With audiences now harder to reach
due to dozens of TV channels and the rise of computer games, mobile phones and the internet, digital advertising has also become of increasing importance. Digital channels like the internet have one crucial advantage: you can interact - for instance post comments, vote, enter competitions, play games, make your own films.
• The possibilities are endless, and it’s a great way of reaching out to people and allowing everyone to be a part of Cadbury - a modern version of the cookery demonstrations and promotions of the 1930s.
• All in all Cadbury advertising in the 21st century is leading the way, just as it has done throughout the company’s history