Cadbury’s new TV commercial explores the emotional impact of the spirit of personal generosity through simple gestures of kindness. It aims to inspire special moments of connection, brought to life through its call for South Africans to embrace the glass and a half of generosity in everyone.
The successful completion of its Read To Succeed programme, which shone a light on the nation’s reading crisis, allows Cadbury to focus on the very essence of human connection: an evolution that aims to embrace the beauty and impact of the little things we do for someone else, the small gestures that pack an emotional punch and bring people closer together.
This renewed focus sees Cadbury return to its core brand value and gives meaning to there’s a ‘glass and a half in everyone’. It’s a vital progression during a time when the pressures of life see us taking one another for granted and push us into autopilot, highlighting the relevance and need to create moments that uplift one another.
Zesizwe Matthews, Ogilvy South Africa’s Creative Director, who, together with agency partners, is bringing this new brand positioning to life, said, ‘We want to reflect and tell stories about people and connections that we don’t usually share, like the vulnerability between a father and his son. It’s a connection not many brands are brave enough to explore and show.’
The TV commercial explores a relatable yet often underrepresented dynamic: the relationship between a father and his son and how they share a special moment of personal generosity. We see a son pause and turn his attention to his father, helping him get ready for his first date in years, and secretly placing a Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate in his dad’s suit pocket as a good luck charm. This seemingly small gesture has an enormous emotional impact, embodying the real spirit of Ubuntu, the profound sense that ‘I am, because you are,’ and turning an already touching moment into one of connection.
Lara Sidersky, Mondelez SA Category Lead for Chocolate, added, ‘This TVC underscores our brand’s mantra: ‘there’s a glass and a half in everyone,’ articulating how even the simplest acts of kindness can result in extraordinary moments of human connection.’
In 2020, Cadbury introduced the ‘Read to Succeed’ programme, which aimed to create 1500 new children’s stories in all 11 official South African languages. Sidersky said, ‘This chapter in our generosity journey brought the brand and South Africans closer than ever before, not just sharing a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk but sharing a love for reading, for culture, and most significantly, for generosity.’
The purpose-led approach improved the brand power score seeing an increase in brand meaning, difference, and salience with Cadbury consumers.
Sidersky concluded, ‘Cadbury remains a brand rooted in the spirit of generosity now more than ever. We want to uplift South Africans and inspire them to consider how small gestures can have big emotional impact, reaffirming that truly, there’s a glass-and-a-half in everyone.’
CADBURY
https://www.cadbury.co.za
