I read in the Guardian on March 24th 2008, that the most eagerly awaited commercial of 2008 is the follow-up Cadbury's commercial of the gorilla playing the drums to Phil Collins' "Something in the air tonight".
The gorilla ad was created by Fallon. Without a single mention of chocolate, it was shared millions of times on the web. This must have been tremendous to all marketers at Cadbury's after a year in which Cadbury's had a salmonella outbreak, a recall of a £5m Trident gum campaign which was so offensive and a recall of Easter Eggs lacking in nut allergy warnings. My personal favourite is the Easter Egg hunt in the US which led people to a graveyard in Boston containing the remains of historic American figures!
So the ad created some positivity for Cadbury's although a mate of mine summed it up when he said "loved the ad and the viral marketing success story, still don't want to get the salmonella bacteria".
There's no doubt that this ad contained that X-factor that makes people want to watch it and share it. I'm also pretty sure that it created some positive company and brand equity for Cadbury's when it was much needed. I am left wondering 2 things at the moment:
- What impact did it actually have on brand equity and sales?
- How can the second ad try to replicate the same x-factor? (nice challenge for Fallon)
- How will it do?
- What will the second ad sell more chocolates?
- Will there be a third ad? When do you stop?
My feeling at the moment is that there HAS been a positive impact on brand equity and sales, and I hope that Fallon can replicate the magic. I have just bought a second Bravia TV although I don't know if this is attributed to my belief in Sony's brand, design and superior quality or perhaps the results of consumer tests which I read (the Bravia came out top) or maybe it *IS* my belief in it having colour.like.no.other (thanks to the balls, paint and rabbits ads).
What do YOU think about the questions above? Do you think I was influenced by the Sony Bravia advertising? I'd like to invite you to comment on this. Please, pretty please? Don't be shy.
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