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That's Entertainment: Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Phil Collins & A Gorilla
Well, this is different!
It’s a new ad for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, and features a gorilla & a Phil Collins track. It was made by Juan over at Fallon who also made the Sony Balls advert. The Cadbury’s Gorilla ad launched Saturday night and there are already 25 iterations of it on YouTube, about 90,000 views, and a whole variety of comments positive and negative.
This is a great example of a theory that we’re developing at Altogether. We’ve got two phrases for it – “Entertain me, or f#ck off” and “Giveashitability” (a/k/a GASability).
Consumers get between 1,600-5,000 advertising messages per day thrown at our faces (according to a quick Google search). They have to filter through them consciously and unconsciously in order to not go crazy and decide which two to pay attention to. It is increasingly important that brands stand out – online or off (anyone using the term “Above The Line” and not potentially referring to online activity should think about retiring, by the way). Sure, that’s what every marketer wants to achieve, but the way we do that is changing.
We can no longer shove something down a consumer’s throat. We need to engage them. We need to entertain them (or educate them, inform them), or get out of their faces. That entertainment does not necessarily need to be “be funny” though. Bravia’s Balls, and Cadbury’s Gorilla/Phil Collins entertain in two very different ways, but they both stand out.
Paraphrasing Seth Godin and his talk at TED, it’s crucial to stand out. Getting attention for your brand, good or bad (though hopefully good, naturally) is key. Bizarre, interesting, different… they all make people look up and take a bit of notice. And that’s a success in this day and age.
Hitting the Innovators or Early Adopters is increasingly going to be key – for all brands. In the Cadbury’s Gorilla example they’ve placed the ad during Big Brother; hardly early adopter stuff but that’s sensible media buying too. I just read about a conference on Digital Youth. One of the sessions is called “Discuss, Don’t Broadcast”… I think that that’s only partly right. Discuss, yes, but engage is a better word. And as for “Don’t Broadcast” well, that’s just reactionary! If it’s not in a Big Brother ad break, how will you get people to sit up, love it or hate it, but basically discuss it.
In ad-land the chat is about Fallon, Juan, the Gorilla, the song, the award-winning potential… but in the rest of the country it’s about the experience. The ad will inevitably polarise people, but imagine how the kids will react to it; nostalgic adults; people with a sense of humour! There’ll be gorilla suits and a Phil Collins revival all over School Disco now… (as my old Creative Director once told me – “There’s nothing funnier than a man in a gorilla suit”)
Ideas that spread, win.
Consumers don’t really care about advertising because they have so much more choice. Opinions can be formed almost independently of advertising. They have so much less time than before, so we marketers need to provide them with better quality experiences. The beginning of the Cadbury’s ad has a simple introduction that sets the scene for us: “A glass and a half full productions” – it’s quality, it’s a “film”, it’s educational and informative (the amount of milk in the bar, for example).
Advertising needs to increasingly be “remarkable”
Is the advert worth mentioning, talking about? Is it something new and fresh? Look regularly at any fashion blog or DVD release schedule to see how fast things can grow and become popular… and how quickly they can become stale too. It’s too hard to keep on the latest thing, the newest, to be on top. It’s more difficult, but more rewarding – in the short, medium and long term – to stand out, give something new and fresh, and to engage; create something with giveashitability. Entertain them, or f#ck off!
This works across all aspects of marketing. Designers should stop producing average products for average people… so should advertisers. Don’t be safe. Being “very good” is being very average, and that’s bad. Being remarkable is what it takes to be noticed. And if that involves getting a gorilla and a song by Phil Collins to promote Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, then so be it.
UPDATE: It would seem that our commenter Chris isn’t the only one who has noticed the similarity between the Cadbury Gorilla ad, and one shot for a chain of skate shops in Canada a few months ago. There’s an interesting discussion of the rights & wrongs of this here.
(Thanks to carldpatterson for the Dairy Milk image)
This type of ‘remarkable advertising’ re-invents a stale product and re-packages it.
It’s almost bringing this product into the conspicious consumption bracket. Younger people will now consume this product to represent themselves, not as a gorilla playing the drums but the fact that it’s ‘cool’ and everyone knows it! People will want to have association with it. Well done Cadbury!
It will be interesting to see the sales of the other products that cadbury have in their portfolio. I’m guessing most of them will all see some significant increase on the back of this ad.
This is a seriously thought out game plan. Let’s hope that production don’t mess things up.
- 4 September @ 1:20 pmCan’t resist sharing this scene from the Miami Vice pilot that uses the same, thoroughly brilliant, track. (I like the gorilla too, though it also makes me think of David Ogilvy’s comment about going for recall for the hell of it: “When I want a high recall score, all I have to do is show a gorilla in a jock strap.”)
- 4 September @ 3:40 pmGreat post. They seem to be working this out in the real world too. Walking into our lovely Golden Square office on Tuesday morning I was greated near Leicster Square by two people dressed up on Gorrila outfits. They were handing out a leaflet and a bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk,.
The leaflet was actually promoting the great gorilla run in London at the end of September (a charity event where people dress up as gorillas and run though London).
- 6 September @ 12:18 pmLooks real similar to this West 49 spot that was out in Canada a few months ago.
Available here.
Makes you wonder…
- 7 September @ 8:10 pmNice spot Chris – I wonder if the guys at Fallon have seen this yet?
- 10 September @ 11:18 amI must be the only person in the country who wasn’t that impressed with this ad? Ooo, a gorillla playing the drums? How revolutionary. Now excuse me whilst I get back to watching Celebrity Paint Drying Revisited on Ice.
- 12 September @ 8:11 pmI think the adverts have different vibes going on, so Cadbury can get away with it.
Fantastic post Chungaiz
- 14 September @ 8:15 pm“Now excuse me whilst I get back to watching Celebrity Paint Drying Revisited on Ice.”
Is that on Channel 5, or Living? I can never remember…
- 18 September @ 1:21 pmThought the advert was brilliant, love the gorilla face and the music tremendous. Is Phil in the suit?
- 18 September @ 2:40 pmJust a quick comment in terms of where the idea came from and did Cadbury “steal” or “borrow” or “be inspired” by antoher spot, I’d like to quote Faris Yakob right now: “Talent Imitates, Genius Steals”
- 19 September @ 11:51 amIf juan had seen that Canadian ad it would have probably put him off making cadbury. I know exactly where the inspiration came from it wasn’t that ad I promise you.
The similarities are superficial. The genius of juan’s ad is that is a well timed joke, it is the sense of emotion created by the track and the performance of the gorilla, then the absurdity of him drumming, but drumming like he’d been waiting for that moment for all his life………….
- 19 September @ 2:16 pmis that a real monkey because i ten pound bet that its isn’t
- 26 September @ 5:33 pmthanks
I don’t think anyone would take that bet!
- 26 September @ 6:38 pmThe West49 ad is a cute idea. The Cadbury’s ad is brilliant.
The difference being that in the West49 ad, it’s just “oh, how funny, a gorilla playing the drums”, but in the Cadbury ad, that gorilla is COOL, he’s feeling it, and as Bronx said, it’s as if he’s been waiting for that moment for all his life. He’s feeeeeling it, baby, and you’d better just close your eyes and groove with it, because it’s his moment, and you’re just along for the ride.
The West48 ad is amusing; the Cadbury ad pulls emotions out of you.
- 27 September @ 1:43 amLoved the ad it brilliant where can l get the cd.
- 12 October @ 11:44 pmis the gorilla real in the cadburys advert?
- 14 October @ 6:31 pmGret ad but who’s in the suit???
- 15 October @ 12:07 amI think that The Sun ‘outed’ the guy in the suit – just an actor I’m afraid, and definitely not Phil.
- 15 October @ 10:30 amlove the ad, who is playing the gorilla??
- 16 October @ 11:12 pmThe Daily Mail revealed the actor in the gorilla suit.
- 17 October @ 8:47 amHow do I make this fantastic video onto my screensavers
- 23 October @ 8:30 pmcame on here to find out more as ad was intriguing – agree with the emotional power of the sound track and ‘gone ‘ gorilla – branding a bit recessive as had to watch it specially to see who it was for – generally only engaged well after the start and waiting for the drums – moves dairy mik from comfort to cool though
- 30 October @ 5:23 pmWow, this has got to be the best advert ever,
- 14 November @ 1:29 pmIt is the funniest and most emotive Ad of this year and should win an award (forget the comparisons) the gorilla is so cool and I have played with someone who looked just like that, only when he got carried away with the vibe though!!
- 15 November @ 2:58 pmFell in love with this ad as soon as i saw it. I watch it all the time with a huge smile on my lips and thinking that’s the physique of my boyfriend and i love it!!
- 21 November @ 8:04 pmis the gorilla real in the advert? as my other half say its not but im convinced it is
- 30 November @ 11:16 pmI’m afraid that your other half is right…
- 1 December @ 12:31 pm