Gorilla gets the sales

I commented back in September about whether the fresh thinking behind the TV commercial of a man in a gorilla outfit playing drums to Phil Collin’s hit ‘In the Air Tonight’ would boost sales and enhance the appeal of Cadbury’s CDM chocolate.

Great news-the gorilla has delivered!

The award-winning ad broke all the rules, and Cadbury’s sales are up by more than 6 per cent on the back of its success. Although initially it was released on TV it has also become a huge Internet hit, with more than 5 million viewings on Youtube . It also generated 100 spoofs on the site too.

Proof that both fresh ideas combined with digital and viral marketing techniques are central to getting messages through all the clutter-especially to the under 35’s, and work as excellent support to mainstream campaigns.

In terms of return on investment the £6 million Cadbury's spent on paid advertising has certainly resulted in acres of free editorial coverage in conventional mainstream media, plus references on blogs, websites etc. (In Australia the ad didn't air, but it didn't stop them showing it in full on the national news!).

The Financial Times states that tracking agency Go Viral reports it was the 'most watched' viral ad of the year ahead of these:-

1. Cadbury Gorilla drummer
2. Smirnoff Green Tea partay-3.4 million views
3. Ray-Ban-catch sunglasses-3.2 million views
4. Blend-tec, 'Will it blend' ( subject of an earlier post)-2.7 million views
5. Lynx/Axe-born chicka wah wah-2.6 million views

But who was the man inside the Gorilla costume? The Sun scoop is here.

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