The Cadbury brand has been around since 1830. John Cadbury owned and ran a tea and coffee shop in Birmingham in England, with a small sideline of cocoa. Due to greater demand for the cocoa products as opposed to the demand for tea or coffee John Cadbury,

 “took a momentous step: one which would gradually lead to the creation of a global brand with sales counted in the billions. He switched to being a manufacturer of cocoa products.” (John Bradley 2008 p.4)

His main product, Cadbury Cocoa, was recognised in 1854 when he was awarded Queen Victoria’s royal warrant, ahead of any other cocoa manufacturer. Since the beginning, Cadbury have consistently emphasised the two major principles of the brand, as having high quality and the best possible value and this is still very significant nowadays. As Edward Cadbury said in the 1920’s “nothing is too good for the public.” (John Bradley 2008, p.81) These longstanding principles have made me, and perhaps many British consumers’, perceive Cadbury as a very trustworthy and reliable brand.

World War 2 broke out in 1939 and ended six years later in 1945. The war made a huge impact not only on Cadbury, but also on every brand in the Western culture. Prior to the 20th century, goods were promoted on the basis of their practical and logical benefits. In Cadbury’s case, their chocolate was promoted on the basis of its milk content and its health and nutritional values. During the war the US and the UK came together to produce and manufacture goods and war related items in factories. But once the war had ended, factories had excess capacity to produce goods but without corresponding market demand. At this time, ‘The Marshall Plan’ was put into place; an American initiative to aid Western Europe.

A component of this initiative was a plan of for the ‘fulfilment of desire’. This idea stemmed from Edward Bernays’ works into the psychology of unconscious desires. Bernays studied the idea of persuading consumers to buy things they did not need by persuading people that purchasing certain goods would fulfil their unconscious desires. A process he himself described simply as “stimulating peoples’ desires.” (Mekky 2013) Cadbury adopted an approach of associating their product with an emotional desire in order to enhance their brand value. The previous slogan of “A Glass and a Half Full” was changed to “A Glass and a Half Full of Joy” The Glass and a Half was originally produced as a functional benefit - i.e. implying the health benefit of the milk - all kids were given milk at school from the war years on and so there was great public perception that milk was ‘healthy’. It was later that this was altered into an emotional benefit association - i.e. joy.

On the 18th of January 2010, the "Cadbury’s board recommend[ed] £12 billion sale to Kraft.” (Wearden 2010) Kraft is an American run food and beverage manufacturing and processing conglomerate. Kraft has been both a beneficial and a disadvantageous step for Cadbury. It has resulted in major job cuts for the British factory workers, however Kraft offers more up to date technology, which has improved the product portfolio and overall turnover. Furthermore, Kraft has perhaps modernised the brand image. The shapes of the chocolate chunks have been rounded, in order to “improve the mouth-feel of the chocolate” (Wallop 2015) and the font style of the brand has been modernised from a traditional serif font to a sans serif more stylised font. Kraft has updated the brand image in order that consumers will perceive the brand as a more modern and trendy.

Cadbury’s doesn’t operate across one niche market it operates across many. The target audience are segmented “against a variety of variables both demographic and psychographic.” (Yeshin 2006, p.196) Cadbury aims towards a variety of consumers, old and young.

“Younger groups are more likely to note the upbeat personality traits than older ones, however, older groups are just as likely to note Cadbury Dairy Milk as a quality and trustworthy brand. This hints at an overall level of appeal across different age groups.” (Academic.mintel.com, 2015)

As previously mentioned, Cadbury’s marketing strategy surrounds the emotional association with joy. What Cadbury is selling, as Klein (2001 cited by Rutherford 2011, p. 8) argued, “primarily [are] not things, but images of their brand.” Cadbury successfully creates a mental image of joy in their consumers’ minds in order to differentiate and maximise their market share.

Consumers’ perceive the Cadbury brand as a ‘persona’. A persona defines “the aspect of someone’s character that is presented to or perceived by others” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015) and is derived from the Latin word meaning a ‘mask’. Cadbury’s brand image is one that is eccentric, fun and joyful and this is presented through the use of entertaining and humorous adverts, such as the ‘Gorilla Drummer’ and the ‘Eyebrow Dance’.

“In our modern consumer culture, virtually everything that one owns […] is chosen for its capacity to adopt and project the desired self-image.” (Rutherford 2005, p. 21)

In other words, a consumer who buys a Cadbury product does so both in order to associate themselves with the emotional benefits of the product, and project that image to others.

‘Intertextuality’ can be defined as the way texts interact with one another. A major intertextual reference used in Cadbury’s marketing strategies and advertising campaigns is to ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Firstly, the communications refer to Cadbury as ‘Joyville’, a fantasyland. Decoding this name can make sense of it. ‘Joy’ is the reinforcement of the emotional benefit that Cadbury intend to sell. The ‘ville’ refers to the origins of the company. The first Cadbury factory was built on a “14-acre plot of rural farmland 4 miles southwest of Birmingham [which] was purchased on June 18th, 1878” (John Bradley 2008, p.50) named Bourne Brook country estate, which George and Richard Cadbury renamed Bourneville, reflecting the fashion at the time for all things French. The mental image of ‘Joyville’ as a fantasyland links to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, which is full of excitement, eccentricity and fun.

Another reference to ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ is the golden ticket connection. Cadbury’s sales promotion technique was named ‘unwrap gold.’ In the run up to the London 2012 Olympics consumers were invited to ‘unwrap gold’; a gold voucher inside a Cadbury bar that would win them tickets to the opening ceremony or individual events like overnight stays in London or trips. To ensure everyone felt they had a chance of winning, Cadbury hid gold vouchers in bars in every UK postal district and every county in Ireland across 24 different product lines in each retail channel. This idea of a golden voucher giving any consumer of the chocolate a chance of a lifetime runs parallel with Willy Wonka bars offering golden tickets to a lucky few who will experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore his factory.

Lastly, some of Cadbury’s advertising material contains intertextual references to ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. The advert, ‘The Not-So-Secret Secret’ “celebrates the truth behind Cadbury’s unique production process by following a young apprentice as he is guided in and out of ‘Joyville’ by an old master. Together, they embark on a quest to discover the well-protected (if not very well-kept) secret of Cadbury Dairy Milk’s famous creamy taste.” (Fallon.co.uk 2013) The style and plot of the advert has close similarities to that of ‘Charlie and Chocolate Factory’. The ‘old master’ character in the advert acts in a similar way to Willy Wonka, as he is eccentric and exhibits odd mannerisms. Cadbury benefit from associating their brand with widespread positive associations generated by the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ story. It is interesting to note however, that Roald Dahl, the author of the story was a devotee of the Cadbury brand having once been a taster for Cadbury – and it was therefore Cadbury that inspired his creativity! They sowed seeds in this young mind from which they yielded a huge harvest.

The Cadbury brand itself can also be considered a ‘fetish’. A fetish can be defined as “an inanimate object worshipped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015) or “an excessive and irrational devotion or commitment to a particular thing.” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015) The Cadbury product satisfies many needs and wants. The fact it is multifaceted may be the reason why people can become irrationally devoted to it.

As previously mentioned not only does it associate them with the emotional benefit of joy and project this image to others, but it also fulfils their desires and cravings in experiencing the pleasurable taste, which the chocolate provides. Chocolate can solve a functional problem, as it is a food source and provides energy. However, looking further into the psychology of the human mind, chocolate can be considered an ‘addiction’ which increases feelings of ‘joy’ even if it is an illusion. Being addicted to something is to become “physically and mentally dependant on a particular substance.” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015) In other words, a consumer can become devoted to Cadbury due to its pleasurable taste, making Cadbury a fetish. However, it is perhaps significant to add that,

“although there is evidence that chocolate is often consumed to improve mood, this does not necessarily imply that it is addictive. It may simply be pleasant to eat. Most people eat chocolate on a regular basis without any signs of its getting out of control, without signs of tolerance or dependence.” (Nehlig 2004 ,p.214)

Cadbury is famous for its purple identity. Interestingly, the Cadbury purple and gold colours are now recognised the world over, although nobody can be sure why they were chosen almost a century ago. It is incredible to think that a single colour alone can remind a consumer of a brand. The colour is “a rare pigment derived from tiny marine shellfish, Tyrian purple, also known as royal purple or imperial purple, dates back to c1600 B.C […] and has long been associated with royalty and power.” (Taylor Bloxham, 2013.) Although nowadays the brand is targeted towards more of a middle class market, chocolate was once only available for the elite. Purple was perhaps chosen due to royal recognition (as previously mentioned) from Queen Victoria.

“Colours have a powerful influence over the meaning we find in what we see ‘out there’ and therefore over the way we respond to it” (Rutherford 2005, p. 7)

Furthermore, humans physiologically respond by simply looking at a colour. Interestingly, the ability to see certain colours has evolved over years. It has been argued that the primary colours (red, green and blue) are the first colours that humans could view, followed by the secondary colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black.) The colour purple “is perceived as the most disturbing colour: complex and intimidating, it combines the passion and energy of red with the tranquillizing effect of blue.” (Rutherford 2005, p.9) The response to the purple colour perhaps connotes the feelings and emotions that Cadbury chocolate gives its consumers. Simply the colour is mouth-watering.

Cadbury has affected society’s perceptions of the brand through their style of communication and the way in which they use symbols to create meaning in their advertising and promotion. The human brain is desperate to make meaning out of what it sees.

“The concept was developed by a group of German psychologists who studied how people create meaning – I.e. how meaning takes shape in human perception.”(Megginson et al 2009, p.30)

This was named the Gestalt Theory – ‘Gestalt’ being a German word meaning ‘pattern’ or ‘shape’. Something that does not make sense or are not perceived in patterns disturbs the human brain. Humans attempt to arrange thoughts and objects into patterns and orderly shapes. For example, when farmers plant crops and sow seeds, they do it in rows and columns and when gardeners plant flowers they plant then in an orderly fashion. However when things are not in recognisable patterns or cannot be made sense of they do tend to stick in the human mind.

Cadbury’s Gorilla Advert exploits this psychology. When a consumer initially watches the advert the brand association is not immediately obvious and therefore, whilst enjoying the music and visual imagery, the consumer is searching for the pattern or connection. Making the connection, or finding the pattern, results in a positive experience for the consumer when they spot and associate the Purple colour with the Cadbury brand.

It can be argued that the positive associations of joy within Cadbury’s advertising can influence negative behaviours, such as over eating. As previously mentioned, the Cadbury brand can be described as a ‘fetish’. Some consumers can become devoted to the taste and emotional benefit of the chocolate, that they overeat. S. T. Beckett (2008, p. 201) proposed:

“While most studies do not support a link between chocolate consumption and obesity, a recent report in the UK suggests that the consumption of high-fat sweet products as a whole may be a factor in obesity in some women.”

Cadbury’s has perhaps promoted chocolate in a way which will encourage chocolate ‘addiction’. However the way in which society perceive Cadbury is still positive due to the success of the advertising and promotional materials and the positive factors it associates itself with. Some might argue that Cadbury are selling something which is unhealthy in a positive light, which is misleading. This, however, does not change consumers’ perceptions of the brand but instead they ignore this and in fact believe that eating chocolate will fill them with ‘joy’.

The question ‘How have my own perceptions and behaviours been affected by Cadbury advertising?’, produces an unusual response. I believe I have not only been affected by modern Cadbury advertising, such as the TV campaigns and promotional offers, but I have also been affected by Cadbury advertising which was broadcast years ago, before I was even alive. I believe my perceptions and behaviours of the world around me and of the Cadbury brand itself have been inherited. My parents were largely influenced by Cadbury advertising throughout their childhood, and so were their parents and their grandparents in turn.

My father tells me of his memories of the Cadbury advertising for ‘Fudge’, as he sings to me ‘a finger of fudge is just enough to give your kids a treat.’ He used to eat Cadbury fudge sticks as a child, and when I was a child he would buy me fugde from the local newsagent as a treat or as a reward thus giving me positive assosciations with the brand. My parents’ perception of the brand is that it is trustworthy. I believe I have inherited this perception, as it is a brand we stay very loyal to. I believe my behaviours have been affected by Cadbury modern advertising as it successfully (and intendingly) fills me with ‘joy’.

I believes my behvaiours and perceptions have been affected by Cadbury’s modern advertising as there have been many instanses where my connections with the brand have resulted in experiences of ‘joy’. The Eyebrow Dance and Gorilla adverts especially make me smile and giggle, producing a positive perception. The two adverts influenced an aspect of social identity and conformity. I remember when the ‘Eyebrow Dance’ aired in 2009, when I was 12 years old, all my class mates would attempt to imitate the funny eyebrow moves from the advert, which we all found very entertaining and which was essientially a joyous experience. One of my earliest conscious memories of the brand was a Cadbury’s mug in the shape of a piece of chocolate which my grandmother kept pens in. It looked so entising that I had to desires to eat it, even though it was made out of china!

In conlusion, I not only believe my behaviours and perceptions have been affected by Cadbury advertising in my own lifetime but beyond and conveyed to me through my families exposure to the brand in the past. My behaviours and perceptions have also been largely affected by the knowledge of the history of the brand, the many mental images that have been conjoured up, its colour, and the symbols which are used throughout the advertising materials. Although being a health conscious person myself, I believe that Cadbury has been so successful in highlighting the ‘joy’ I receive when I eat a bar of Cadbury chocolate, that I almost ignore the fat content and negative health implications of it. Cadbury has the abilty to successfully alter society’s perceptions and behaviours of not only the Cadbury brand, put the whole confectionary sector.