The advertising is the second phase of the £6.2 million marketing campaign which launched earlier this year with outdoor poster activity.
The quirky advert, which is three times the length of a standard ad, is staged like a cross between a short film and a music video. The ad begins with a mysterious close-up of a ‘gorilla’s’ eyes, with Phil Collin’s well known song, ‘In the Air Tonight’, playing in the background.
As the camera pans back you see the life-sized gorilla sitting behind a drum kit in a recording studio. As the chorus begins, the gorilla breaks into a passionate and entertaining drum solo. It is not until the final still that it is revealed that the ad is bought to you by Cadbury Dairy Milk, ‘A glass and a half of full joy’.
In initial testing, the TV ad was ranked in the top fifth of all adverts ever tested by Millward Brown for enjoyment. The campaign will run until the end of the year will be seen an average of 10 times by 84% of the adult population.
To coincide with the TV campaign, CTB will also be launching an on pack promotion, ‘Win a Prize and a Half’, to drive incremental sales of Cadbury Dairy Milk. The competition, which runs from 31st August to 8th March 2008, will offer consumers a chance to win more then 50,000 exclusive money-can’t-buy prizes: such as a trip to a fashion show… at New York Fashion Week, or a shopping trip…in Marrakesh.
The ‘Win a Prize and a Half’ promotion is available across single bar and 250g block Cadbury Dairy Milk, including Cadbury Dairy Milk Turkish, Double Choc, Wholenut, Caramel and Fruit & Nut. Existing barcodes on CTB products will not change.
Kate Harding, Acting Head of Customer Relations at CTB comments:
“Worth £350 million in retail sales value, Cadbury Dairy Milk is the most well known chocolate bar in the UK. With the quirky new ‘Gorilla’ TV advert, we are reminding consumers why the brand has been is the nation’s number one choice since 1905.
“To support the added brand awareness driven by the ad, retailers will also benefit from the original on-pack offer, which is based on the glass and a half unique brand benefit. We’re confident the activity will really boost sales.”
Specific POS including dump bins and counter units will be available for ‘Prize and a Half’. For POS or more information, please call the Cadbury Trebor Bassett hotline on 0870 191 7343.
The company recently said that the adverts are to make a return.

