It has been nearly fifty years since Cadbury Bournville was last on TV in 1976, but a new campaign by VCCP and Girl&Bear is bringing the dark chocolate brand into the chocolate foreground again – with gusto and wit. The campaign introduces a new brand platform, Made to be enjoyed, not endured, that positions Bournville as the antithesis of bitter hard-to-enjoy dark and the eliteness that goes with it.
At the heart of the campaign is a hilariously sharp and self-aware film that follows two puffed-up dark chocolate aficionados locked in a game of escalating one-upmanship, trading obscure cacao origins and elaborate tasting notes. As their ridiculous sparring escalates, a bemused Bournville fan quietly enjoys a chunk of smooth, simple dark chocolate.
Production company, Outsider, and highly awarded comedy director, Harold Einstein, brought the idea to life, in collaboration with VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear. The script was written by VCCP creatives, Alice Goodrich, Lara Baxter and Simon Connor. Once the script was formed, VCCP worked with Einstein and BAFTA-winning British comedy writer, Simon Blackwell [Veep, Peep Show, The Thick of It] to finesse the jokes and collaborate on new material.
Alongside the 30-second spot, a longer 90-second version was produced to land even more laughs, with even more material improvised on set during the shoot.
The full UK campaign will cover TV, out-of-home, radio, YouTube, video-on-demand and social, with distinctive red-and-white Bournville branding and bold typographic headlines that highlight the simple pleasure of the chocolate itself. The OOH posters spotlight an oversized, glossy chunk of Bournville chocolate, set against a striking red background – celebrating the brand’s unmistakable heritage with a refreshed, vintage-modern look.
Elise Burditt, senior marketing director at Mondelez, stated,: “This work is a confident reappraisal of a chocolate that’s been quietly loved for decades. Part of Cadbury, Bournville is a fabric of the nation brand. With this campaign, we’re bringing Bournville back into the national conversation – but in a way that reflects the times. We’re excited for the nation to see Bournville in a whole new light.”
Chris Birch and Jonny Parker, CCOs at VCCP, added, “Bournville. The chocolate that just observes as all the other chocolates around it slowly lose their minds – chasing latest fads and fashions. A chocolate this legendary deserves famous work that populates culture which is what we see this new platform doing.”
Simon Connor, creative director at VCCP, commented, “Bournville is an OG dark chocolate from a time before tasting notes of tree bark and percentages that would make your mouth cry. The team has created something that is as enjoyably straight forward as Bournville itself. A campaign to be enjoyed, not endured.”
Media planning and buying was led by Publicis Media UK. Supporting activity across organic social and eCRM was led by Elvis.
Credits
Client: Bournville [Mondelez – Cadbury]
Senior Marketing Director: Elise Burditt
Marketing Manager: Michael Moore
Brand Manager: Maria Jackson
Brand Executive: Valerie Sophia Doeringer
Advertising Agency: VCCP
Chief Creative Directors: Chris Birch & Jonny Parker
Creative Director: Simon Connor
Creative Team: Alice Goodrich & Lara Baxter
Creative: Tom Lee
Group Managing Director: David Boscawen
Managing Partner: Matt Smith
Senior Account Director: Bella Johnston & Rosie Troen
Account Executive: Ella Wright
Group Planning Director: Gethin James
Senior Planner: Charlotte O’brien
Agency Production: Girl&Bear
Agency TV Producer: David Vass
Agency TV Production Assistant: Oona Webster Jones
Senior Integrated Creative Producer: Georgina Ehmcke
Production Company: Outsider
Director: Harold Einstein
Managing Director & Executive Producer: Richard Packer
Producer: Joseph Taussig
US Producer: Michael Kanter
DoP: Glynn Speeckaert
Production Designer: Patrick Lumb
Stylist: Alex Day
Editing: Arcade
Editor: Dave Anderson
Managing Partner & Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Senior Producer: Ellen Lavery
Assistant Editor: Drew Lang
Colour: Company3
Colourist: Tim Masick
Colour Producer: Alexandra P. Garcia Ortiz
Associate Colour Producer: Morgan Coyle-Howard
Post Production: Selected Works
Executive Producer: Alex Fitzgerald
Producer: Angie Broomfield
VFX Lead: Ben Turner
2D: Olivia Wang & Rich Roberts
Audio Post Production: Factory Studios
Sound Design & Mix: Jack Hallett
Audio Producer: Olivia Endersby
Content Creation Studio: Girl&Bear
Design Director: Jonathan Harper
Assistant Artlab Manager: Nick Normann
Resource Manager: Yasmine Moridi
Social Editor: Thomas James
Social Sound Engineer: Emily Vizard
Post Producer: Gerda Aleksandraviciute
Radio Audio Post-Production Company: Jungle
Radio Sound Engineer: Stuart Allen-Hynd & Sean Mahoney
Media Buying Agency: Publicis Media UK
Social Agency: Elvis
