CADBURY | GORILLA | 2008
90 Seconds, Not a Single Shot of Chocolate / CADBURY "GORILLA"
A gorilla plays the drums. That's it. For 90 seconds, no product, no dialogue. Just drumming along to a Phil Collins song. And somehow, that was enough to make the whole world smile.
The problem
In 2006, Cadbury was hit with a recall and a fine over salmonella contamination, and both trust and sales took a hit. The brief they were given was simple: win back love. Fallon London decided to stop explaining the product and instead focus on capturing the feeling of eating chocolate itself.
The insight
Cabral came up with the idea in the middle of a casual conversation about the greatest drum solo ever. "Phil Collins plays like a gorilla," he said. That night, he wrote the script in one sitting. Rumbol recalls, "I couldn't explain why, but I just knew in my gut we had to do this." The conviction moved before the logic did.
The idea
A drum kit sits against a purple background, with a gorilla seated behind it. For 60 seconds, nothing happens, then it launches into a solo in time with Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight." The product appears only in the last three seconds, just a logo and a line of copy. The gorilla suit was the real animatronic suit from the movie Congo. The performer, Garon Michael, had never drummed before and practiced over and over while watching a monitor. They skipped CG entirely, insisting on something that felt real.
What happened
It first aired during the 2007 finale of Big Brother. It racked up millions of views on YouTube, and sales of Cadbury Dairy Milk rose 9%. The Phil Collins song climbed back onto the charts for the first time in 25 years, and he personally sent a thank-you letter. The ad won the Grand Prix in Film at Cannes Lions in 2008.
Afterthought
It took Rumbol four months to get this idea approved. He says pitching "an ad with no chocolate and no message" was the hardest sell of his career. But even before it was approved, Cabral was already out hunting down the suit, casting the actor, and teaching him to drum. Conviction moved before logic. That gorilla had been waiting for this moment all along.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2008
Featured in
- The Product Is Nowhere to Be SeenHow choosing not to show became the boldest statement of all
