CR Blog
It looks more like a video installation for a fashion brand, but it's the new ad for Cadbury Flake which airs tonight on Channel 4...
The spot from Fallon is directed by Baillie Walsh and (story updated) appears to reference his Kate Moss Hologram for Alexander McQueen's AW06 show (see here). It features Russian model Yulia Lobova sporting a yellow dress, made from 200 metres of fabric by couture designer Anthony Price. As Lobova spins around the swirls of the fabric echo the folds of the Flake chocolate.
That that is basically all that happens is certainly no bad thing. For one, it's a beautiful piece of film but it's also far removed from the tired clichés of chocolate indulgence. There's no mention of "crumbliest" or indeed "flakiest", the tagline that has supported the brand for 50 years.
The new TV campaign airs tonight (8 June) at 8.30pm on Channel 4 in the UK.
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71 Comments
It looks amazing but this version is too long and I'm not sure if it links to the brand.
...but then who'd have thought a Gorilla drumming could sell chocolate?
2010-06-08 10:31:22
Crud. Makes me think of battered fish. Not good when mixed with chocolate.
2010-06-08 10:36:05
Beautiful and brave but doesn't really remind me of the texture of flake.
Looks more like some sort of 'creature from the deep' - a bit spongy.
2010-06-08 10:40:41
Steve, I agree and disagree with you. I don't think its too long, I think it takes a while to realise whats happening. Plus, I needed a few moments to ogle.....its pure and beautiful. Its like a mixture of an underwater scene and a surreal cloudy dream. I love that it doesn't need any text to convey the message. I also think its brave of Cadburys to strip the ad bare.
I definitely agree with you about the chocolate-selling-gorilla. Very tenous, very risky but it pays off. This will make the advertising history books.
2010-06-08 10:46:02
looks like the thing we had growing in our bathroom
2010-06-08 10:54:37
to me it evokes underwater, tenticles, and organic form. which isn't really flake is it? it might be cliche but surely silk or a very luxurious material would of served the purpose better. There are too many long shots throughout, the CU shots are much better because you can see the model, the person and their mood.
2010-06-08 11:12:46
Why yellow? I know the wrapper is yellow but CHOCOLATE ISN'T. If the strap line came up for the Tripe Marketing Board I wouldn't have been surprised. Dressing someone up to look like the business end of a Portuguese Man o' War feels a far better fit for advertising Senokot... or Neurofen; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbuFxxDIBWw
2010-06-08 11:31:30
Paul Arden would have spun in his grave if they'd gone for purple silk... The overall construction is desperately reaching to be as sublime as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpDoklTEz8 but lacks the conceptual rigour.
2010-06-08 11:49:44
Victoria, You're right, it'll definitely win awards recognition.
I've watched it again and maybe your right about the length, it fits the tone - you don't tend to wolf down a flake but saviour it.
The still shown above is stunning.
2010-06-08 13:24:06
*Please correct typos in previous comment,thanks*
Victoria, You're right, it'll definitely win awards and recognition. I've watched it again and maybe you're right about the length, it fits the tone - you don't tend to wolf down a flake but saviour it.
The still shown above is stunning.
2010-06-08 13:27:28
This is basically a complete rip off of the Kate Moss hologram at Alexander McQueen's AW06 show - And that was live!
Watch it here, amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z4Kkh7duI
2010-06-08 13:51:03
A beautiful waste of money. Sort out the packaging first - minimises any hint of premium the brand ever had...
2010-06-08 13:54:48
Gorgeous and brave.
Criticism: I've got to agree with the 'why yellow?' comment. Its not even the vibrant yellow of the package. The same dress in a luxe brown with a golden background and it would be right on the money for me. OR, there could have been an interpretation of the 'unwrapping' where a golden cape or shawl drops off to reveal the dress...
That said, it's beautiful rather than just clever or gag-like and .....that's often too rare :)
2010-06-08 13:57:30
Some of the above comments are so funny! Have to say I agree with Matt in the Crud comment, cant say it makes me want to eat chocolate either, pretty but thats about it.
2010-06-08 13:58:35
beautifully creative, and as a point of difference between brands its brilliantly positioned.
2010-06-08 13:59:33
It's beautiful but doesn't make me think of chocolate and honeycomb -doesn't make me want to eat chocolate --and isn't that the whole point?
2010-06-08 14:02:03
Agree with Alice. Total rip-off. Except this looks like a joke advert parodying fashion videos!
Uninspiring. Yellow.
2010-06-08 14:02:21
A better idea would be a beautiful girl in a cornfield in the summer. She's doing a watercolour. But it starts to rain - the rain drops running through the paint and spoiling the picture. So she eats the flake. An impassioned voice then sings; "Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before..."
2010-06-08 14:03:49
Shame Cadbury make such awful chocolate. If they spent only a fraction of the time, energy and money they invest in their beautiful ads to improve the quality of their products, I would definitely buy them. So I guess their ads can be as amazing as they get, but it's all wasted on me as they will never convince me to buy their ghastly hydrogenated-oil-ridden bars...
2010-06-08 14:05:28
What do I think? I think Alice is right & no creative credits due.
2010-06-08 14:09:40
I have to agree that, while it is a beautiful piece of film, it isn't original. As Alice has pointed out it is almost a frame-for-frame copy of the Kate Moss hologram sequence for Alexander McQueen. For that reason alone, I don't think this ad should get any awards (if it does) because it has stolen an idea (and a dress design it seems) from another brand. If I were Cadbury I would be seriously questioning Fallon why they are paying so much money for such an unoriginal idea. Oh, and if any planner or creative says that the originality lies in the "innovative re-use of another idea" then they ought to fired straight away. Harsh criticism for harsh times, people!
2010-06-08 14:10:07
@ Alice and Dan and everyone else claiming 'rip off'
It's actually by the same director as the McQueen installation, as we have now made clear in the piece (and should have done in the first place). I'm not sure how Walsh can be 'stealing' his own work
PatrickBurgoyne
2010-06-08 14:12:00
Hellooooo everyone!! It is a complete rip off from Alexander McQueen..... 2006!!!! (see link put in on Alice comment) what's new?? Ok, different way to advertise a flake.... Be inspired by the fashion world, but don't plagirise and pretend it's something new!
2010-06-08 14:13:21
i really apreciate they tried to innovate with this ad, but i am not buying it unfortunatly, i don't like this ad.
it's like it incomplete, lack of info, or poor background as the music. and to be honest I dont feel like it when I eat or look at a Cadbury;s flake. I have no feeling when looking at this ad. It will be more suitable for a designer or a perfum ad....this is only my point of view :-), and maybe also the relation i have with food.
But in other hand i think its really good to innovate and to deviate something from its real meaning. if that make sense. I only like the idea of going beyond the original idea.
Olivia k.
2010-06-08 14:14:06
mesmerising and arresting
2010-06-08 14:18:15
its all about positioning the brand and making a point of difference, not about awards or credits people!
Well done to the ‘suits’ who had the faith in the creatives to go with a visually stunning piece of work
2010-06-08 14:18:54
Too subtle, if it was a perfume it could just about get away with it . But more to the point,
couldn't they have used brown satin?
2010-06-08 14:22:08
In answer to Andrew who wrote: "its all about positioning the brand and making a point of difference, not about awards or credits people! Well done to the ‘suits’ who had the faith in the creatives to go with a visually stunning piece of work"
Well, frankly if any creative brought me that idea I would love it... if it was original. Isn't that the point that a positioning of a brand is only powerful if it is original in what it has to say about the product, and also in its execution. I stand by my comment that Fallon out to be called out about this. And simply saying that the McQueen sequence inspired the film: rubbish - it's a rip off!
As an industry that is struggling to get its clients to spend money on originality we all should be striving to do just that: come up with great ideas, that position brands intelligently and relevantly, and all executed with a wow factor that hasn't been seen before but will be talked about for years to come. This, though beautiful, does not achieve that.
2010-06-08 14:27:16
Ah, it all makes sense now. It's a complete rip off of that Mcqueen thing. That's why it bears no relevance whatsoever to the brand. It's even more crud than I originally thought.
2010-06-08 14:27:46
now that Alex mcQueen is in another world they're recycling these/his ideas for food?
what's the reason behind this? Is it because they're using the same director and couldn't come up with something else?
there's a beauty in the idea but it's unsuccessfully reused.
2010-06-08 14:27:55
Positioning the brand in territory Galaxy have already set up camp - that's so clever, andrew.
2010-06-08 14:32:51
It is lovely and beautiful but - unlike the Gorilla - fails to connect to the brand. I fear it will be over most people's heads. The simple issue I have is why wasn't the fabric the colour of the chocolate. Knowing it was a Flake ad I thought it must be a white choc variant. So close, so brave but ultimately no cigar.
2010-06-08 14:37:39
I wish the dress done was in a beautiful chocolate colour and remind the viewer of the chocolate flake texture. The yellow reflecting the packaging does not bring the idea of chocolate to mind and fails to link it to the brand until the last two seconds. Also close up pictures are more stunning than the angle it was shot.... I miss seeing the details when watching it. Who wants to see the wrapper dancing and not the crumbly chocolate making our mouth water? Luma Creative http://www.lumacreative.co.uk
2010-06-08 14:41:39
far too fishy for chocolate... uck
2010-06-08 14:45:47
Girl gets swallowed by giant yellow jellyfish. Jellyfish gets annoyed and squirts purple ink. It's a bit Flaky which I guess was the point...
2010-06-08 14:46:46
Lifting the idea; that's Flake[y].
2010-06-08 14:54:11
Oh dear, not a good ad, it might work on a "the product's so good we can get away with shit advertising" level!! Why is EVERYONE using slow-mo HD floaty cinematography now. Getting old, fast...
2010-06-08 14:55:01
Surely batter & chocolate are a great combo? More Mars bar though...
2010-06-08 15:01:21
in response to Mark Anderson....
As an industry that is struggling to get its clients to spend money on originality....
I didn’t thing we were discussing how original it was!
I think you forget... that these days to get a client to open their wallets on anything is an achievement, and bins in studios all over the globe are full of great, new ideas that failed to pay the invoices.
Remember your role.... to engage the public not your ego...make your product stand out and pay the bills.
2010-06-08 15:19:44
It reminds me of a jellyfish more than anything, but it is beautiful and very different.
2010-06-08 15:20:07
So, we've seen it before, it looks like some wierd alien jelly-fish thing, it doesn't make me want to eat chocolate and doesn't make me think of chocolate.
All of which is a bloody shame, because it is beautitful, but as an advert it gets the heave-ho.
2010-06-08 15:31:00
It is beautiful. We all get our inspiration from the world we live in. Yes it looks a bit like the Kate Moss video, but it has been moved on. Well done to the creative's, the team for selling it in and the client for being brave. All these things have to come together for the evloution to happen.
2010-06-08 15:34:20
tripe
2010-06-08 16:26:52
Andrew,
Forgive me, I was under the illusion that our remit – whatever discipline we work in within the creative industry – was to be original, relevant, innovative, creative and commercial...
To discuss this ad without questioning its originality is impossible. This is the industry we are in. And I rarely indulge my ego since the bottom line of the company doesn't allow for such things while the clients look to me to understand their business objectives, their stakeholders and their product's benefits, pulling all together into a coercive form of communications which is then benchmarked against, that's right, you've guessed it: originality, relevance, innovation, creativity and commercial viability.
But please, let us agree to disagree...
2010-06-08 16:45:21
I wonder how many of the above comments are writen by indivduals that work or have any connection with commercal advertising, The creative industry is seriously starting to disappear up its own A-HOLE.
2010-06-08 16:46:55
"Have you got anything?"
"Nope, how about you?"
"Erm, not really, and I'm kind of hungry. We could always just rip off that Alexander McQueen thing. That was ages ago."
"Good idea, let's get a burger."
Kerching!
2010-06-08 17:07:39
Mark...
its quite obvious that you are a suit....and if presented with this advert, it would never have seen the light of day....the creatives would have been fired, the photographer...not commissioned, the company disregarded and the client left without an advert....
Thank goodness, the people who create... in what ever form, are the people who inspire, encourage and ultimately enrich all our lives.
Long live the pencil.
2010-06-08 17:55:19
Squid.
The most unsexy mermaid ever seen.
2010-06-08 22:36:54
it reminds me more of Aero
2010-06-08 23:29:15
After watching the advert and reading a handful of comments, i would say it was a mixed responses to the new flake campaign. I personally enjoyed the high end classical feel to the new ad, but it does have the same approach of a perfume campaign.
2010-06-09 09:53:59
Also very similar to a couple of clips by Calum Macdiarmid
http://www.gglondon.tv/showreel.php?dir_id=77&sec=com
2010-06-09 09:59:11
looks just la Rosemount campaign of two films by RKCR/y&R that were showcased in Shots last year only it's too long, with no idea.
it does look like a but of rubber fungus you find in the shower.
2010-06-09 11:19:37
It is directed by Baillie Walsh who directed the MCQueen show in 2006.
Baillie Walsh directed the Antony Price fashion shows in the 1980s.
And as for the idea being "ripped off" Alexander McQueen, what a load of claptrap.
McQueen based an entire careeron ripping off Antony Price designs in the first place
2010-06-09 12:28:50
i'm in the tripe camp
2010-06-09 13:53:52
really not sure about that, caught on tv for first time last night - it looks beautiful, and i do get the subtle link between the flow of the dress and a flake and the explosion of purple around her... but the colours just seem wrong to me why not a more opulent hazelnut brown coloured dress and a brunette - or am i just being far too literal?
2010-06-09 14:41:00
CR - So pleased you confirmed that the ad was created by the same people who created the McQueen/Kate Moss collaboration. I think that ends that arguement (unless readers don't actually read other peoples comments, which we know they don't).
Andrew & Mark - step away from the toys. You need your jelly heads banging together.
I also think the bigger picture here is that we're all talking about the advert. Point to Cadburys.
P.S The flake wrapper is yellow. There's the link. Clever, I know.
P. P. S To all the haters - have you tried eating chocolate? Its supposed to make you happy. Try it sometime.
2010-06-09 14:53:09
I think it's absolutely exquisite. Who could take their eyes off this? I think it absolutely captures the texture of the Cadbury bar, I think it's amazingly descriptive. It's given new meaning to Cadbury chocolate. Even the purple smoke (chocolate) cleverly wrapped itself around it. A wonderful representation. I could watch this 100 times and never tire of it. It left me with only one negative. I wish they had shown more of the flaky part of the candy before it gets covered in chocolate.
Magnificent!
2010-06-09 20:48:38
playergerism – plagerisism - plajorisen - playingerism - plyjoyrhsm - plagiarism ©
...it's just another bad copy
2010-06-09 22:44:47
Dino Asleto's comment has put the whole thing into a more sinister perspective. Could this be Antony Price's way of saying to the (late) McQueen "You've always been a flake". Amazing.
2010-06-10 09:30:49
What is the point of this Ad?
To win some industry award to pump up some Creatives portfolio no doubt...
Someone needs to crawl out of their own a-hole...
2010-06-10 13:27:48
It's a bad copy of what? I'd love to see the original.
We're so used to having words stating the obvious and "selling us", it's refreshing to be able to just see and feel it. We got it. Chocolate is a sensory, and emotional indulgence anyway so this fits right in with the desire and stimulation for it. Like sex. What needs to be said?
2010-06-10 15:07:27
Sorry, I just saw the Kate Moss "original". It's wonderful, but doesn't lessen the brilliance of adapting it as descriptive of a flaky bar. In advertising, everything is borrowed and given a new context. It's a different audience and a different product and again, I think it's an incredible solution. I've been wanting to try the bar since I saw this yesterday, but I don't think we have it yet.
2010-06-10 15:29:05
Can anyone tell me what that track is?
2010-06-10 17:44:48
I think I'd agree with most punters. That ad is shit.
2010-06-10 20:14:59
This is a great advertisement. We have seen the same thing again and again with advertising. For advertisers to think out of the box and produce a advert like this really does capture attention. Cadburys have started to create these types of adverts and that's what people are talking about. If they get people's attention and they remember the product, then the advert has served it purpose.
2010-06-11 16:54:29
Amazing. Beautiful. Different....So glad there are still agencies like Fallon and brands like Cadbury preventing ad breaks being 100% shite.
2010-06-11 21:46:47
YES IT'S A RIP OFF ALRIGHT! (just watched the Alex McQueen thing!) link above!
IT MAKES ME THINK OF TRIPE OR SOME KIND OF UNDERWATER CREATURE, AND I'M GLAD IT'S DOING THAT AS I'M TRYING TO LOOSE WEIGHT!
WHY ISN'T IT THE COLOUR OF CHOCOLATE? IT WOULD MAKE MUCH MORE SENSE!?
I'VE SEEN IT SEVERAL TIMES, AND IT EVERY TIME IT CAME ON I COULDN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS AN ADVERT FOR!
WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY FOR FLAKE!
I WON'T BE BUYING ANY WHILST I THINK OF THAT AD!
YUK!
2010-06-11 23:11:46
@Richard Ball
Afraid in this case, the ad's job was to make you want to eat the product. Just 'getting talked about' is what people who don't know the business think advertising is for. We shouldn't confuse 'Gorilla', which is a brand ad, with the variant's ads. This needs to make you pick up a Flake and eat it. Simple as that. That's why punters will score it - shit ad. Food value = nil. Flakes are bloody great. This doesn't remind us of that at all.
No wonder punters think we constantly disappear up our own arses. When we produce stuff like this and pat each other on the back for it. Nobody else cares who Fallon is, or who directed it, etc, etc. They'll just remember it looks like a tan coloured jelly fish. Mmm, Yum.
2010-06-13 09:46:01
Anyone seen the ad for Rosemount Diamond in you campaign? Its almost identical and I would hesitate to say that it was broadcast earlier than this ad.
http://www.diamondinyou.com.au/
2010-06-14 11:50:49
Beautiful piece of film, but the only connection my mind can (and does) make to the act of consuming is that it reminds me of sick swirling round in the toilet bowl after a night on the Warninks Advocaat.
If I watch it too many times I fear I may never eat Flakes again.
Aside from that, its just too poncey for the product. Get a pretty girl, film her eating a chocolate bar. Good lighting, good lens, good location, good pace, good soundtrack... job done. If you want to be progressive, make two: one with a girl and one with a dumb eyed hunk in Speedos for the laydeez to enjoy.
2010-06-15 13:19:20
Yes, it is a beautifu advert, rip-off of Alex Mac/Kate Moss or not. Yes, the Fake wrapper is yellow and the writing purple - clever. But reference to the chocolate, why have a white brunette model in the yellow dress instead of a black model - obvious no? They are advertising the chocolate milk variety of Flake, afterall.
2010-07-17 11:44:14
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