coming on and stay to watch them for their own sake rather than for what they are advertising.
Some people might find this advert effective because of the entertaining way that the gorilla plays the drums and the way his emotional playing links with the words and music of the song.
Would anyone find this advert patronizing and if so why? In order for an advert to be patronizing, it must be condescending – so the question could be – would anyone think the advert had little to do with the product (Dairy Milk chocolate) and treat the viewer as unintelligent, only to be entertained rather than informed. We need to consider therefore what the advert is advertising, and does it do so effectively, or does it assume the viewer is stupid and needs no information, but will respond in future to the sight of a gorilla or the Phil Collins song with a desire for Dairy Milk chocolate. Some people might find it patronizing compared to previous adverts which Cadbury have done. They may think that Cadbury’s is relating the advert to chocolate, and others would think about why Cadbury’s have chosen this advert to
advertise for “Dairy Milk”. There is no doubt that this advert is successful as a talking point and all the different versions on You Tube prove its popularity as a type of ‘cult’ advert. However, have sales gone up?
To consider the image Cadbury’s is trying to relate to this product it is interesting to compare the advert to the highly successful 1980’s Milk Tray advert which had a “James Bond” theme. This advert was effective as it suggested that if a person bought Dairy Milk or was given a box of Milk Tray, then they were worthy of a lot of effort on the part of the one who bought it for them. They were highly valued and loved. This is because in the advert, the man is proving the woman worth fighting for as he will go through any trials to get his chocolate delivered and “all because the lady loves Milk Tray”. There is repetition in this saying: “because” and “loves” sort of rhymes and repetition is a subtle way to get adverts stuck in our heads. People in the 2000’s may think this advert is patronizing because it is sexist because it is a man not a woman doing all the dangerous tasks to get the Milk Tray for a woman who is receiving the chocolate. However, the gorilla advert suggests strong masculinity too but in a more subtle way.
These two adverts link because of the way they are portrayed. The gorilla advert is an unusual advert and so is the Milk Tray advert. Both adverts try to urge you into buying the chocolate to impress whoever you are getting it for, as well as enjoying and talking about it afterwards. Technically, the camera shots change between each frame in both the Milk Tray and the Dairy Milk adverts. There are many camera shots, from low-angle to extreme close-up shots especially when the gorilla grunts at the camera for coming to close to him. Both techniques are there to create a feeling of excitement in the viewer. The man in the “Milk Tray” advert is portrayed as extremely brave as he keeps a straight face, showing no fear through all his escapades. In the gorilla advert it is we the viewers who are brave as we look the gorilla in the eye, without fear.
There is little lighting used in the “Dairy Milk” advert which creates an intimate sensation, drawing the viewer into the action and emotion of the moment. There is just a background with the Cadbury image on the back and a plain light when the gorilla plays the drums, which keeps us focusing on the gorilla, with the name of the product in our minds eye. The “Milk Tray” uses lighting techniques to excite in the final frames as the man is underwater
and bright light when he is jumping from the cliff and in the room. Both adverts use lighting effectively to create similar emotions in the viewer.
It is clear that both the Dairy Milk and the Milk Tray adverts try to use a masculine figure, to target men to buy their products by linking the product to extreme masculinity. Women on the other hand, it is suggested, will feel special and well taken care of by a strong masculine figure if they buy or receive these products. We may wonder why Cadbury’s have decided to use a gorilla rather than a good looking male model/musician. Maybe they wanted to avoid an obvious sexist stereotyping; maybe they were conscious of the impact and popularity of the new King Kong movie and wished to use the same image of a big strong animal which will become loving and caring through love.
Additionally, we need to consider the success and effectiveness of these adverts in two ways. Firstly from the point of view of sales figures (this shows the company how effective the advert was) and in terms of whether we remember the advert or the advert and the product. In terms of the advert for Milk Tray, sales figures soared and people remembered what the advert was for due to the repetitious slogan “and all because the lady loves Milk Tray”. The gorilla advert seems effective as the sales figures show,
that while before the advert went out, this product was the most popular of the Cadbury chocolates but the sales figures were going down, yet since the advert went out the sales have gone up by 8%.
To conclude, if we are to decide whether the adverts are patronizing or not, it seems to me that some people will feel patronized while others will feel entertained. Overall, due to sales figures and internet hits, I would suggest that the adverts have both been effective but whether they are patronizing or not is a matter of personal opinion.
Word Count: 1227
