Unfortunately, in the current economic landscape, brands can’t afford to be seen as living in a fantasy world. Many consumers are conscious of their own situation and don’t like to see the brands they trust – the brands they support by purchasing their products – abusing this.
Cadbury’s ‘Chocolate Thumb‘ has made me anxious. You can see what the thought behind this marketing stunt has been – give something back to the social media consumers – in a language they will understand, via the medium of the Like thumb on Facebook. The video is in a contemporary ‘behind-the-scenes’ style – not just the finished product but the build and creation, plus a touch of the quirky and characterful with some wobbly moments, if not a little staged (lots of purple everywhere). Once the glorious thumb has been built and the final touch added by ‘Superfan’ Denise, that’s just sort of..it. There is something in the video that channels Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and the fantasy of a giant thumb made out of chocolate would surely inspire a delighted response from children. But this campaign surely can’t have been directed at such a young consumer group – after all only 10% of Facebook users are 13 to 17 year-olds.
The campaign by Lurpak for their new product Lurpak Lightest displays a massive rainbow of foods, cresting over the butter product. At first I presumed this was computer-generated, but after a little research, discovered that it had been completely crafted. Aesthetically it is remarkable, yet initially I wasn’t allowed to enjoy this, held back by my inner-conscience, thinking ‘the waste!!’. A statement released by agency Wieden + Kennedy completely put my mind at rest and more:
“The rainbow featured in the print campaign was lovingly constructed by hand – there is no camera trickery involved. It was created by set designer Nicola Yeoman and her team, and photographed by Dan Tobin-Smith. Built over three days, the structure comprised of more than 60 types of fresh produce. None of the food used to create the rainbow went to waste either. The produce from the shoot was given away to award- winning UK charity, Fareshare, who were able to put the food to good use through community dinners.”
I understand that the problem with chocolate is that it is not as readily washable as vegetables are, and perhaps I’m over-exaggerating in feeling uncomfortable, expecting Cadbury to do something with the 3 tonnes of confectionary used to craft this giant thumb, but you can’t deny the backlash. One youtube viewer said, “wast.of.time.and.food” and another, “Would it not have been MUCH better to reward all the fans by sharing that chocolate out amongst them?!”. Negative discourse initiated by a brand’s own actions is unhealthy and exactly what you want to avoid when trying to engage with your consumer through social media.
So what can we learn from this? That many of today’s consumers are suspicious of frivolity, even when directed as a friendly, ‘down with the kids’ approach. Social media speaks to any age group that is engaged and spreads the word far more quickly than any medium ever previously used. Not only this, but users feel empowered and ‘invincible’, speaking often anonymously from behind their screens.
How can Cadbury work with this response? Perhaps continue to position themselves as the ‘builder of chocolate dreams’ and push for fantasy over reality as we have so little escapism these days as it is. After all, 3 tonnes of chocolate is hardly going to feed a starving nation is it?
The Art of Branding 