History of Cadbury’s advertising and marketing campaigns

1866 saw the first-ever recorded advertisement from Cadbury after a new way of processing cocoa made it 100% pure. ‘Absolutely pure, therefore best’ was the first slogan Cadbury used to market their cocoa essence which generated a huge boost in sales. Against their competitors, who were bulking up chocolate products with harmful substances, Cadbury had marketed themselves as a brand that could be trusted and put the consumer first.

Cadbury’s marketing didn’t just stop at cocoa beans and chocolate products. Their innovative thinking surrounding all aspects of the business (especially factory life) is what separated Cadbury from other brands alike. The two brothers understood what employees wanted and needed during the Victorian times, which they supplied at Bourneville, which had green spaces, friendly working hours, sports facilities, and family housing. In 1902, 30% of Cadbury’s expenditure was on employee welfare, and word-of-mouth about their ethical work made sure they were never short of a happy workforce and trusting consumers.

Here we’re going to dive into the history of Cadbury’s marketing and advertising and figure out why it is so successful.

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Cadbury Fact File

• Founded in 1824 by John Cadbury on Birmingham’s Bulls St
• Brand value stood at £2.99 billion in 2023
• 17th most valuable food brand globally
• The biggest markets are in the UK, Australia, the US, India and China
• Cadbury has been a holder of a Royal warrant since 1854

Cadbury logo

(Source: Logos world)

From shop window posters to chocolate bar wrappers, 1920 was also the first time that Cadbury started using the colour purple on all of its brandings. A colour still closely tied with the brand, it also has its own Pantone reference number, 2685C.

This was soon followed in 1921 by the replacement of the cocoa tree logo with the cursive handwriting of the brand name, which is still used today. Those with an eye for detail will notice that Cadbury often doesn’t use their Cursive logo in their TV advertising. The specific deep purple and message behind the branding is enough for people to recognise a Cadbury advert.

Who was Cadbury’s chocolate for?

Advertising for Cadbury in these early stages often featured well-dressed, young adults, implying that this chocolate could only be bought and enjoyed by the most wealthy.

In line with their early emphasis on the purity of chocolate, Cadbury successfully targeted middle-class Victorians who could afford this luxury brand.

From the 1920s Cadbury’s marketing was centered around making consumers of the chocolate extra strong due to the milk contents. This ‘healthy’ chocolate bar, if there ever is such a thing, grew in popularity, especially with children.

There was a clear shift in the target market of Cadbury from adults to children in 1928, with the release of their ‘glass and a half’ in every Dairy Milk bar, a campaign which still runs today. With milk being a nutritious choice of drink for children, Cadbury made parents feel like they were making a good and healthy choice, by buying Cadbury chocolate.

With ever-increasing research and public knowledge about health and diet, Cadbury could no longer keep up with the notion that their products were good for you, especially not children. The 50s and 60s saw Cadbury beginning to remarket their products as a gift to be exchanged, moving towards the romanticization of their chocolate. This can be seen in one of the first ads for Cadbury’s Milk tray.

A key founding principle of Cadbury has always been generosity, which tied in well with all of their campaigns. Today, Cadbury uses the glass-and-a-half symbol to represent the small acts of kindness from people we might miss day to day.

A heart-warming ‘glass and half’ campaign, is seen in the TV ad, ‘mums birthday’ where a little girl is seen exchanging small toys and buttons for a block of Dairy Milk.

TV advertising

Cadburys are no amateurs when it comes to TV advertising. They were one of the few brands to be included in the first-ever commercial TV advertising reel on ITV back in 1955.

The rise in popularity of the bond films in the 1960s, and the continuation of romanticizing their products, saw Cadbury create a Bond man of their own- The Milk Tray man.

Cadbury also didn’t shy away from using celebrities to promote their brand. The 1950s saw the release of ‘Flake Girls’ where top models like Catrina Skepper, portrayed the beautiful taste of chocolate through sensual adverts and glamour. These adverts ran for many years in the 70s and 80s but caused a stir, and were hit with backlash as they became increasingly outdated in the modern era.

There was a shift in Cadbury’s TV marketing strategy in the 2000s, where they focused more on providing an entertainment factor for the viewer than advertising the chocolate products themselves.

If not the most memorable TV ad to be created by Cadbury, a 90-second clip of a Gorilla playing the drums to ‘In the Air Tonight’, had UK watchers gripped to the TV and got the 80s hit song back to the top of the charts. This ad has won multiple awards across many countries, even years later in 2015 it was voted best British ad in 60 years.

Cadbury’s latest campaigns

Today Cadbury’s largest marketing campaigns are centered around the key holiday seasons, with tradition, gifting and togetherness still at the heart of what they do.

Some of their latest and largest campaigns include:

• Worldwide hide– A virtual easter egg hunt that allows people to hide eggs anywhere across the world, and send clues to the recipient to help them find it.
• Secret Santa Postal Service– A postal service where online shoppers can send loved ones Christmas chocolate anonymously.
• Memory bars– A campaign in partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK, to help people with dementia spark memories and conversation over nostalgic packaging

While keeping to traditional values, Cadbury has also been able to successfully evolve with digital marketing tactics, social media usage, and the ever-growing impact of celebrity influence. With over a million followers combined on their Instagram, Facebook and TikTok (at the time of writing) Cadbury regularly posts about their latest competitions, brand partnerships, recipe ideas, new products and events to get involved in.

See a snippet of the Cadbury Instagram below.

Keeping tradition alive while innovating

Cadbury’s years of advertising and marketing campaigns have played a pivotal role in shaping the brand’s identity and global recognition.

From viral advertisements changes in colour and branding, and associations with the holiday seasons, Cadbury has consistently leveraged emotion, nostalgia, and quality to build a lasting connection with its consumers.

Their ability to keep tradition and stay innovative for over 200 years in both products and marketing strategies is what has made Cadbury a family household brand today.

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