Cadbury’s Gorilla drumming ad
Posted on 10. Sep, 2007 by Jonathan Cherry in Advertising
For the past week, it seems everybody with a blog has posted this new Cadbury’s ad. Most of the related comments seem to consider it the ‘best advert ever made’.
To be frank – we don’t get it. Clearly there’s zero connection between primates and chocolate and to the cynics that work here at the Cherryflava HQ - it’s just not very funny at all.
Somebody dressed in a gorilla costume drumming to an old 80′s Phil Collins track – come on. And to add a splash of Jack to an open wound, it cost Cadbury’s £6.2m [that's more money than the entire Zimbabwean GDP] to amuse everybody.
For that money Cadbury’s could have given a ‘lead free’ bar of chocolate to everyone in Britain.
Maybe were missing the point.
24 Responses to “Cadbury’s Gorilla drumming ad”
Leave a Reply
Don
10. Sep, 2007
Film students with R100 budget for the gorilla suit could’ve done a better job.
No concept. Poor filming. Weak.
‘Best advert ever made’? Never. Ever. Ever.
Vaughn
10. Sep, 2007
Yep, utter shite.
Craig Harding
10. Sep, 2007
I don’t get it? Did it cost 6million to grease palms and the rest to make the ad?
Now accepting user submissions for better ad which also contains Gorilla, minus Phil Collins and Chocolate.
Rita
10. Sep, 2007
yes, I honestly love this one! can’t explain it, but can’t explain most other things I love either.
Andrew
10. Sep, 2007
I watched it twice in case I’d missed something. I didn’t. It’s crap.
Patrick
10. Sep, 2007
mr cherry dude – you start by saying this is being blogged to high heaven and then rant about how weak it is..surely cadburys are smling when their brand is being web 2.0′d?
Cherry
10. Sep, 2007
Yes – sure the exposure Cadbury’s is getting is wonderful. We too have now added to that by posting it here, but the point is that pure exposure is just not good enough for £6.2m.
Everyone has now seen the funny ape playing drums, but will that make you buy a Cadbury’s chocolate? Do you have new found respect for the Cadbury’s brand? Surely for £6.2m Cadbury’s could have done a whole lot more than have everyone spank their monkey on the net?
Exposure – yes well done!
Cadbury’s is the best ever and I want to wallpaper my house with their wrapping paper – hell no.
It’s a short term investment of millions for which their ad agency will probably hope to win a Cannes Grand Prix for number times seen. We still think it’s daft and lacking, but that’s just our opinion.
Miguel dos Santos
10. Sep, 2007
Holy crap! that’s holy crap. Honestly, if you going to go that whole viral video route, you could pay a couple of kids 1/10th the amount they did and get a better video, and that actually makes more sense than that one.
Patrick
11. Sep, 2007
cherry you are vastly underestimating the power of 1. pure brand awarness and 2. cool factor. post the gorilla it is far cooler to eat a cadburys than pre the gorilla…agreed?
Cherryflava
11. Sep, 2007
In circles who enjoyed the ad there could well be a warm fuzzy feeling when chomping on a chocolate in public…if that connection exists in the perception of the market that enjoyed the gorilla, sure.
It’s just clearly not for us and had we been sitting in the room where this big budget campaign was sold – we would have questioned the investment in a gorilla playing drums.
But, time and research will prove the end results of the investment.
For us gorillas belong in the mist or as a clever disguise for a bank robbery.
Patrick
11. Sep, 2007
and swirling rivers of chocolate and dreamy eyed models belong in chocolate ads..
coda
12. Sep, 2007
Go Cadbury, pick a critically endangered animal as your brand mascot and sit it in front of a set of drums to a boring Phil Collins track. That’s bound to sell more of your chocolate. Yeahhhhhh!!!! ROCK ON!!!!!! WHOoooo!
you mug
16. Sep, 2007
A few facts.
The advert did not cost £6.2 million.
That is the cost of the campaign, marketing costs such as buying TV space, and print space.
It cost a fraction of that.
Badly filmed? Are you insane? have you seen it on the TV or just on a computer in between wanking to porn?
It is fantastic, the way it is shot, the acting of the gorilla, it is amazingly realistic, you can only really tell if is fake on the wide shots.
It has had over a million hits on youtube in 2 weeks, it is the number one ad in the world, it is original it is very funny.
It is a lot easier to be cynical and critical and bitterly slag off soemthing new and interesting. Try making something yourself, and perhaps you will then appreciate quite how interesting and skilfully made this ad is.
Or just slag it off, and be a closed minded moron.
Greg Quinton
22. Sep, 2007
although the advert is very well made it doeos not say much about cadbury and is quite poor in that repect. also who ever coda is above sounds like he’ a pompus little twat who does not have a clue, waht a shit you are!
Sumo
27. Sep, 2007
Ive never seen an advert that has made me go “I must buy that”, but that doesn’t stop me enjoying a great add like the cadbury’s gorilla even though I can’t stand cadbury chocolate!
Christine MPLS
28. Sep, 2007
Gorillas & chocolate related–not at all! But, does it stick in your mind? Hell yes! It’s rare to see modern-day companies taking such marketing risks. We don’t have enough businesses doing this with their advertising campaigns. Nearly 99.9% of the stuff out there is ripped off from another advertising campaign. Take the apple silhouette campaign that started a few years back. That was EXTREMELY innovative for the time and was able to boost apple sales by some godly amount. Today we have oodles of copy-cat companies trying to benefit from the success of apple’s innovation. While this commercial is no apple commercial, it’s definitely tipping the scale on innovative and entertaining–isn’t that what we as American’s love?
Chris
03. Oct, 2007
It’s a good advert, it may a bit “strange” but the majority of people recognise it and like it, therofor I would conclude that the media department have done a good job.
trix
16. Oct, 2007
wtf how can you not like this ad you fucking ars holes you cant unhappy while watching a gorilla play the drums and if you can your more then an emp then me ars holes arg you people make me so angry you have to open your mind to the new idea of the advert and feel the pashion and In the Air Tonight by phil collins had to be the best song as come on it raced up the tables you lot are ars holes arg
and if your woundering im a media student doing advertising bitch
also im dyslexic thats why probably most of this is spelt rong ok
Rich
25. Oct, 2007
Oi, just to let you know.
Supposidly Phil Collins is the drummer.
And the advert was intended to entertain, because instead of telling us joy, the showed us joy.
It’s also very clever due to the fact that every time I hear the song, or see a gorilla it makes me think of the song or chocolate.
Now its a 2 way promotion for as much as I’m concerned.
It’s not funny no.
But it’s entertaining.
Safe.
Rich.
15/M/UK
Just to let you know teenagers aren’t morons.
waste of money
01. Nov, 2007
Waste Of Money -
makes no sense
no comedic value
its not as if they have a competition to do with the gorilla or are advertising the plight of endangered gorillas, come to think of it what a wasted opportunity!
Jonathan
13. Dec, 2007
I think it’s a hilarious and engaging video that also neglected to give viewers any reason to buy, eat, or lust after Cadbury milk chocolates. It is gloriously viral, in that after the transmission RNA there’s no ‘there’ inside of the packet. It’s conversation without content. I’ve penned a poem in its honor (well, sort of) at Dim Bulb, if you’d like to check it out: http://dimbulb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/post.html
Jonathan
13. Dec, 2007
I think it’s a hilarious and engaging video that also neglected to give viewers any reason to buy, eat, or lust after Cadbury milk chocolates. It is gloriously viral, in that after the transmission RNA there’s no ‘there’ inside of the packet. It’s conversation without content. I’ve penned a poem in its honor (well, sort of) at Dim Bulb, if you’d like to check it out: http://dimbulb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/post.html
kristy
13. Oct, 2008
this ad is pure humour in the making, when i first watched it on the tv i couldnt stop laughing and neither could my family..ive now put it up on my myspace for everyone who has, and hasnt seen it =]
lewis
04. Dec, 2009
u crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!