cadbury
Image Source: The Economic Times

Amongst the most loved chocolates, Cadbury probably takes the crown; at least chocolate lovers would claim. And aside from good product quality, they also make good ads; don’t tell me you didn’t hum to ‘Dairymilk ka postman aya,’ or that you have forgotten the ‘tou Phir Kuch meetha hojaye?’

Cadbury UK Ad

But these were both Cadbury’s ads for Pakistan. The Mondelez owned brand’s recent campaign for the UK has received some backlash. The campaign was made for the product Creme Egg. The campaign has many visuals, and amongst those many visuals, one features a gay couple biting on to the chocolate.

The homophobia, subtle and otherwise, flowed on to Twitter. Some were blatantly announcing their homophobic beliefs and called it names, while others thought they were presenting a sophisticated argument. In reality, however, it was clear that they, too, were clearly homophobic.

But what was the idea behind this particular campaign? The idea was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cadbury Creme Eggs by showing that the product can be eaten in different ways by different people. So you can lick it, dip it, or even cook it. And anyone can eat it as long as you are doing it with your loved ones. But the loved ones featured were a gay couple. And people said this was an unnecessary addition. You could also see supporters of Cadbury too though. They did make an interesting point that for years on, viewers have seen heterosexual couples get featured for even more unnecessary scenes, so this really is homophobia speaking.

“To anyone “offended” by this: you realize that we’ve seen a straight couple make out thousands of times on television already, and we don’t complain. wonder why you are?”

The brand releases the statement

But Cadbury decided to respond to the whole fiasco. They emailed their statement to a UK publication.

“Cadbury has always been a progressive brand that spreads a message of inclusion, whether it is through its products or brand campaigns. We are proud of our Golden Goobilee advert, which celebrates the many ways that everyone can enjoy a Cadbury Creme Egg. To illustrate this and showcase the joy our products bring, a clip of a real-life couple sharing a Cadbury Creme Egg was included in the advert.”

Moreover, they also explored the angle of not representing social distancing in the COVID era. They said:

“The actors featured in the film were from the same household, so they were egg-static to share a delicious Cadbury Creme Egg together! We also ensured that social distancing and stringent hygiene measures were taken when shooting the new advert.”

It is nice to see that brands do address concerns raised by the viewers, but they do not shy away from standing by their opinions.

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