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HISTORY
1824: John Cadbury opens his first shop
1831: Cadbury expands his company, opening a manufacturing plant in Crooked Lane
1861: John’s sons, George and Richard, take over the company
1866: “Cocoa Essence” launched, recipe bought from Dutchman Van Houten
1879: Bournville – Cadbury’s “factory in a garden” – begins production
1881: Cadbury receives first overseas order
1897: Cadbury launches its first edible milk chocolate
1919: Cadbury merges with rival company JS Fry and Sons
1922: Cadbury opens its first overseas factory – in Tasmania
1955: Commercial television launched. Cadbury becomes one of the first companies to
exploit this new world of advertising
1969: Cadbury merges with Schweppes
2008: Cadbury and Schweppes demerge
2/2/2010: Cadbury surrenders to multi-billion dollar takeover bid from rival Kraft Foods
The 19th Century Company
John Cadbury opened his first grocery shop in Birmingham in 1824, selling tea, coffee, hops,
mustard, and a new, unusual sideline: cocoa and drinking chocolate.
At this time, drinking chocolate was expensive. Cocoa beans were imported from the
Americas, and drinking chocolate was a privilege of the rich. Birmingham was quite
prosperous at this time; Cadbury’s new product was tailor-made to his market. (Obviously,
in Victorian times, a market would be geographically quite small. Newspapers, posters, and
word-of-mouth could only reach so many people).
As a 19th century company, especially a one-shop outfit, the advertising of
early Cadbury products was not outsourced. John Cadbury himself
(pictured) developed most of the early advertisements. He saw cocoa as a
‘healthier’ alternative to alcohol; thus, most early Cadbury ads appeal to
health and purity. Nowadays it is nearly impossible to imagine the head
of a company personally directing the company’s advertising campaigns.
The 19th Century Market
As mentioned previously, John Cadbury saw cocoa as a healthier alternative to alcohol. He
also developed most of the company’s early advertisements. Because of this, very early
Cadbury advertising was aimed primarily at consumers of alcohol: adults, and mostly
men. This soon changed as Cadbury realised women and children could also enjoy his
product, and ads targeting whole family came into circulation – like that pictured below.
It was during the early
20th century that
children became an
distinct Cadbury
market. By the later
20th century, they
would form the
dominant market for
Cadbury products.
th
19
Century Advertising
‘The trade of advertising is now so near to perfection that it is not easy to propose any
improvement’
- ‘The Idler’, 1759
18th and 19th century advertising was very different to today’s. Advertising was rarely, if
look atThe
thismanufacturers
one in more themselves designed their advertising campaigns.
ever, (We’ll
outsourced.
detail later)
Furthermore, these early ads were typically information-heavy. This was mostly because
ads were both rarer and more static. In the 19th century, people might stop and read a
poster for a new product; whereas nowadays, a TV commercial may last for less than 30
seconds, but millions are aired per day.
Compare the level of information contained in the three upcoming Cadbury ads. The
first, from the 1800s, espouses the healthiness of Cadbury’s Cocoa. The second, from the
early 20th century, has no information but at least features the product – unlike the third,
from the 21st century.
Ad Analysis: POSTER
This ad for “Cadbury’s Cocoa” is from the 19th century
• The ad follows trends of the time – information
heavy, appealing to logic rather than emotions.
• The picture identifies the target demographic –
the ‘19th century gentleman’. As Cadbury
intended his cocoa as a healthier substitute for
alcohol, the product would be aimed at adults,
and mostly men.
• Appealing to health is not a modern
phenomena; Cadbury claims his cocoa “is
specially rich in flesh-forming and strengthsustaining principles” and “without the
excessive proportions of fat.”
• Cadbury has found a good selling point: his
“pure cocoa.” Other brands of cocoa (and other
foods) in the 19th century was often stretched
with breadcrumbs, brick dust – anything to cut
corners. This is an example of a unique selling
proposition.
DAIRY MILK
Cadbury has always been quick to react to the needs of the market. It released its first eating
chocolate in 1897, but this was soon being outsold by imported chocolate from Switzerland.
Chocolate at this time was still, to an extent, a luxury of the rich (or at least the middle class);
therefore Cadbury consumers could usually afford to buy from wherever they preferred.
One secret to the great success of the Swiss chocolate was the addition of more milk. It was
due to this that Cadbury (now a large company) released a product specifically designed to
meet this challenge: Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate. It is still being sold today.
A new product requires new advertisements. Dairy
Milk was far sweeter than the bitter drinking
chocolate John Cadbury first sold; from this point
onwards, children formed a much larger portion of
Cadbury’s market. Dairy Milk ads, such as that
pictured here, obviously appeal to a younger
market. Note the simplicity, the lack of words, and
the bright colours – all of which target children.
th
20
Century Advertising
‘TV won’t be able to hold any market after the
‘Shagging sells everything.’
first six months. People will soon get tired of
staring at a plywood box every night.’
- Darryl Zanuck, 1946
Undoubtedly the greatest leap in advertising
- Eddie Izzard, 1994
As boundaries widened, Cadbury found
itself exploring the potential of sexuality
as a lever for persuasion. As chocolate is
came with the debut of commercial television in
bought mostly on impulse, some Cadbury
1955. Ads became shorter; frequency increased
ads – such as that pictured – aimed to ally
meteorically. Advertisers learnt the best way to
consumer impulses with sexual impulses
take advantage of this new medium was to
repeatedly reinforce subconscious desires – to
‘stick in peoples’ minds’. Jingles (“Everyone’s a
fruit and nut case”, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the world
was Cadbury’s?”) were one of Cadbury’s
favourite methods of doing this
to reinforce desire for the product.
The 20th Century Market
1905 – Cadbury Dairy Milk
1908 – Cadbury Bournville Chocolate
1915 – Cadbury Milk Tray
1920 – Cadbury Flake
1923 – Cadbury Crème Eggs
1929 – Cadbury Crunchie
1938 – Cadbury Roses
1948 – Cadbury Fudge
1970 – Cadbury Curly Wurly
1983 – Cadbury Wispa
1987 – Cadbury Twirl
1992 – Cadbury Timeout
List taken from
http://www.englishteastore.com/cadburyhistory.html, © Online Stores Inc. 2009
This list charts the evolution of
Cadbury products and therefore
its market. Comparing those
products highlighted red with
those highlighted green, it can be
seen that Cadbury gradually
sought to develop unique
selling propositions – new,
unique chocolates (Flake, Crème
Eggs, Crunchie).
Comparing the blue products to the orange, the progression of Cadbury’s
target market – adults to children – is quite obvious. Names like “Curly
Wurly” and “Wispa” obviously are aimed to appeal to younger consumers
Alternative Advertising
Cadbury has always stood at the forefront of advertising; unsurprisingly, they have often
exploited some more unusual mediums for promoting their products. For example:
 1902 -- Tours of Cadbury factories commence. By 1938, over 150,000 people will be taking
the tour every 12 months.
 1934 -- free miniature metal animals given away in special tins of Cadbury cocoa.
 1990 -- “Cadbury World” opens. Over 350,000 people visit in its first year.
 1996 -- Cadbury starts sponsoring TV soap ‘Coronation Street’ for ₤10,000.
These ads chart both the development of Cadbury’s market, and the development of
advertising techniques. Information-heavy methods of promotion - i.e. tours - are both
aimed more at adults and more representative of older advertising trends. The ‘freebie’
marks the beginning of subtler techniques – not directly associated with the actual product,
‘the peripheral route of persuasion’. The campaigns from the nineties are, as per modern trends,
specially designed for a specific demographic: two target audiences, two campaigns. One
campaign is specially tailored for children (World), the other for adults (Corrie).
21st Century Advertising
‘Nowadays…we are more sophisticated, and the adverts are generally more sophisticated. They
have stories, and graphics, and cryptic adverts where you have the work out what they’re
talking about and then you go “Oh, I see” and then you don’t buy it.’
- Eddie Izzard
 Modern advertising is always outsourced – hence the multi. billion dollar industry surrounding it.
 The peripheral route of persuasion, mentioned previously, is a
psychological idea currently at its peak. Modern ads target the
subconscious, fuelling an unconscious desire for a product.
 Ads are nowadays just as, if not more, famous than their
product. One could say that the unique selling proposition
has been replaced by the unique advertising proposition.
New ads get more attention than new products. Cadbury has
always been amongst the more creative of advertisers and
therefore has exploited this well – for example…
Ad Analysis: GORILLA
This television ad features a gorilla enthusiastically drumming to the Phil Collins hit
‘In the Air Tonight’. First, a series of close-ups watch the gorilla readying himself; next,
a wider shot shows him drumming; finally, the Cadbury logo is shown alongside the
motto: “A glass and a half full of joy.” • The opening close-ups reveal information gradually
to keep viewers curious and therefore sustain
interest in what is, comparatively, quite a long ad.
• The ad follows modern advertising trends: use of the
peripheral route of persuasion, relying on subconscious
stimulation of desire rather than logical arguments.
• The ad aims to ally the brand with a sense of
euphoria. Viewers, subconsciously, begin to
associate Cadbury products with joy.
• This ad targets both Cadbury’s juvenile and adult
markets. Children will react to the “coolness” of
drumming; adults will recognise the old song.
• The video of this ad has received over six million
views on YouTube. Intense interest in the ad,
theoretically, will fuel interest in the product.
GORILLA: Other Analyses
“GORILLA”, as it became known, was the brainchild of advertising agency Fallon London –
specifically Juan Cabral, who is credited as copyright holder, creative director and art
director. A far cry from John Cadbury personally creating early Cadbury ads.
Reactions to “GORILLA” varied widely. Cadbury claimed that ad single-handedly
reinvigorated the company, and it was in fact cited in the company’s financial reports.
Certainly, the popularity of the ad is undeniable. However, other sources claim the ad was
a commercial flop. They say that in the twelve months after the ad’s release, Cadbury sales
increased by 2% while its main rival’s increased by 12%.
Harsher critics claim that the ad is not even an ad at all. Marketing expert Dr. Stephen
Downes labeled the ad a “publicity stunt” and a mere “sponsored piece of entertainment.”
He questions whether, in the future, advertising agencies will be used at all. An “auteur”
like Cabral, or perhaps a music video director, will create a 30-second mini-movie with a
brand name stuck randomly on the end.
Ads Aplenty
Whatever its wider impact, Cadbury was enamoured with its new
advertising campaign. Following Gorilla came other ads aimed at "losing
yourself and embracing that moment of joy” [as Cadbury marketing
director Phil Rumbol put it]: trucks racing to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me
Now’ (or Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’ for America – playing to the
market again), or two children wiggling their eyebrows to a funk beat.
Controversy struck in 2011, when African-American diva Naomi
Campbell complained that an ad comparing her to chocolate
(pictured) was “racist”. Although authorities deemed the ad
acceptable, it was nevertheless pulled to avert bad publicity.
It is interesting that soon after the American Kraft Foods took
over Cadbury in 2010, an ad involving an American appeared.
Kraft obviously sees the USA as chocolate’s biggest market.
The Company Tomorrow?
Critics claim that Kraft,
having taken over the
company, may substitute
Cadbury’s creativity with
more conventional ads
(compare the creativity of
GORILLA with the simple
satire of “Move over
Naomi”)
Modern Cadbury
ads have already
stopped espousing
the product. In the
future, Cadbury ads
may indeed become
mere “sponsored
entertainment.”
With Kraft’s
takeover, it is likely
that Cadbury ads
will target the
American market
more and more (as
with the “Move
over Naomi”
campaign).
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