Cadbury's: Gorilla
Cadbury's approached Fallon London. The client wanted to revitalize its Dairy Milk brand, which was perceived as somewhat traditional. The challenge was to inject unexpected joy and excitement into the brand, making it relevant and emotionally resonant for a broad audience. They sought a campaign that would generate significant buzz, shift perceptions, and ultimately boost sales by celebrating a spirit of pure, spontaneous delight.
Creative Idea
Cadbury created an advert with a gorilla playing drums to inject pure joy of chocolate.
Cadbury created a surreal, unexpected advertisement featuring a gorilla dramatically playing drums to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," aiming to inject pure joy and surprise into their brand personality. The campaign sought to make people smile and associate Cadbury chocolate with a sense of spontaneous, playful excitement that goes beyond traditional food advertising.
The Gorilla That Saved the Glass and a Half
A Gold Tooth and 27 Motors
To bring the primate to life, director Juan Cabral cast Garon Michael, a veteran "ape actor" from *Planet of the Apes*. The animatronic suit was a modified relic from the 1995 film *Congo*, sourced from the legendary Stan Winston Studio. Originally a female suit, the production team "beefed up" the chest and added a gold tooth to give the character more edge. The face was a technical marvel, featuring 27 remote-controlled motors operated by two technicians to achieve the subtle nostril flares and facial expressions that humanized the performance. Despite its complexity, the 90 - second spot was captured in a single tracking shot over just one day of filming.
Defying the Boardroom Skeptics
The campaign almost never aired. Cadbury executives were initially baffled by a 90 - second commercial that featured no chocolate, no people, and a long, slow build-up. Marketing Director Phil Rumbol spent four months lobbying internally to save the script. His persistence paid off when the ad premiered during the *Big Brother 8* finale, reaching 14% of the British public instantly. The impact was immediate: sales of Dairy Milk jumped by 9% to 10%, reversing a decline following a 2006 salmonella scare.
Chart Topping Cultural Resonance
The "Gorilla" effect extended far beyond the grocery aisle. Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" re-entered the UK charts at No. 9 and hit No. 1 in New Zealand nearly 30 years after its release. In the early days of viral video, the ad racked up 500,000 YouTube views in its first week, eventually surpassing 12 million. It remains a benchmark for "entertainment-first" advertising, proving that a brand can win by going to the heart rather than the brain.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Cadbury's held a legacy of being a 'glass and a half' brand, giving them the permission to pivot from product functionalism to pure emotional resonance. Their market dominance allowed them to take a bold creative risk by removing the product entirely from the screen.
Category
Chocolate advertising was dominated by clichés of 'food porn'—slow-motion melting shots and people reacting with exaggerated sensory pleasure. The category was stuck in a cycle of functional messaging that failed to create a distinct brand personality.
Customer
Consumers were tired of being sold to and craved authentic, shareable moments of entertainment and surprise. They sought an emotional 'high' that mirrored the indulgence of eating chocolate, rather than a literal description of the product's ingredients.
Culture
The emergence of viral internet culture and a growing appreciation for surrealist humor created an appetite for the 'random' and unexpected. Leveraging 80s nostalgia through Phil Collins provided a familiar emotional anchor for the bizarre visual.
Company
Cadbury's held a legacy of being a 'glass and a half' brand, giving them the permission to pivot from product functionalism to pure emotional resonance. Their market dominance allowed them to take a bold creative risk by removing the product entirely from the screen.
Category
Chocolate advertising was dominated by clichés of 'food porn'—slow-motion melting shots and people reacting with exaggerated sensory pleasure. The category was stuck in a cycle of functional messaging that failed to create a distinct brand personality.
Strategy:
Pivot from selling product taste to delivering pure, unexpected joy to make the brand synonymous with emotional release.
Customer
Consumers were tired of being sold to and craved authentic, shareable moments of entertainment and surprise. They sought an emotional 'high' that mirrored the indulgence of eating chocolate, rather than a literal description of the product's ingredients.
Culture
The emergence of viral internet culture and a growing appreciation for surrealist humor created an appetite for the 'random' and unexpected. Leveraging 80s nostalgia through Phil Collins provided a familiar emotional anchor for the bizarre visual.
Strategy:
Pivot from selling product taste to delivering pure, unexpected joy to make the brand synonymous with emotional release.
Strategy Technique
Break a Category Convention
The brand was perceived as traditional, so the strategy was to break from typical chocolate advertising conventions. Featuring a drumming gorilla created unexpected joy and shifted perceptions, making the brand relevant.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Celebrate an Attitude
The campaign aimed to inject pure joy and surprise, making Cadbury chocolate synonymous with spontaneous, playful excitement. The gorilla dramatically playing drums embodies this spirit, creating an unexpected and memorable brand personality.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's exceptional craft lies in its brilliant casting and direction of the animatronic gorilla, seamlessly integrating it into a classic song, creating a memorable and emotionally resonant moment.
The animatronic gorilla's performance is incredibly convincing and emotionally expressive, conveying a full range of human-like anticipation and joy.
The iconic use of 'In the Air Tonight' perfectly drives the narrative and emotional arc, making the gorilla's drum solo a cultural touchstone.
The direction masterfully builds suspense and then unleashes pure, unadulterated joy through the gorilla's performance, making the ad highly engaging and memorable.
The sound of the drums, perfectly synced with the gorilla's movements and the song, enhances the realism and impact of the performance.
The magic truly comes from the synergistic blend of the animatronic gorilla's compelling 'acting' with the powerful, recognizable build-up and release of Phil Collins's 'In the Air Tonight' performance.
