Ad of the Day: Cadbury remakes ‘Mum’s Birthday’ to mark 200th anniversary
‘Yours for 200 Years’ was created by agency of record VCCP and celebrates the chocolate maker being part of British life for generations.
Over the years, Cadbury has released some of the UK’s most memorable ads, including the drumming gorilla and the intense dancing eyebrow kids. To mark its 200th birthday, the confectionery brand has reworked one of its recognizable spots.
‘Birthday’ revives the much-loved ‘Mum’s Birthday’ ad from 2018 and transports viewers through 200 years of British life, beginning with a young girl in the pre-war period buying her mum a bar of chocolate as a present. Over the 60 seconds, the girl’s surroundings subtly change as time advances, but the story remains the same.
Cadbury enlisted much of the original cast for this reworking, but with it having been five years since the first ad aired, it also used body doubles and post-production techniques to ensure continuity with the original clips.
“This is a very special moment for us. It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to celebrate a 200th anniversary! But for us, this is so much more than that – it’s celebrating 200 years of being part of the lives of the British public and recognizing that we wouldn’t be here today without them,” said Elise Burditt, senior marketing director at Cadbury.
“We want to demonstrate that the values upon which Cadbury was founded in Birmingham 200 years ago still ring true today with people and with a generous spirit at the heart of everything we do.“
To ramp up the nostalgia, a competition invited people to submit family photos where Cadbury goodies were being enjoyed and these will appear in various out-of-home (OOH) locations up and down the country.
A limited-edition range of seven Cadbury Dairy Milk bars is also being released featuring classic designs.
Chris Birch and Jonny Parker, executive creative directors at VCCP London, added: “Crikey. 200 years old. That only happens when you have the relationship with the British public that Cadbury has. This work celebrates every Christmas morning Selection Box, every school trouser pocket Curly Wurly, every drippy Flake 99, every Dairy Milk on the sofa and everyone in Britain who’s gleefully munched them down since 1824. Happy Birthday, Cadbury.”
The campaign will run throughout the UK across AV, OOH, audio, social, print and digital from today.
Credits
Executive creative directors: Jonny Parker, Chris Birch
Creative director: Angus Vine
Senior creative team: Ben Evans and Adam Sears
Group managing director: David Boscawen
Managing partner: Matt Smith
Senior account director: Tom Carr
Account director: Bella Johnston
Senior account manager: Fiona Hanna
Account manager: Maddie Jones
Account executive: Ellie Rhodes
Planning director: Ollie Gilmore
Senior planners: Alana King, Charlotte O’Brien
Content creation studio: Girl&Bear
Senior integrated producers: David Yass, Gaynor Goldring
Integrated producer: Connor Kilkelly
Senior TV producer: Carly Parris
Production assistant: Maddy Holmes
Head of broadcast affairs: Alexia Collins
Head of art: Ali Augur
Illustrators: Archie Proudfoot & Carol Lawson (CIA), Chris Wormel (The Artworks), Bruce Emmett (Flio), Vince McIndoe (Debutart)
Design director: Adam Edwards
Designers: Tegan Barnes, Carl Sherry
Artworkers: Nilesh Parmar, Lee Forster
Junior resource manager: Yasmine Moridi
Studio manager: James Perry
Assistant studio manager: Sam Weight
Post producer: Gerda Aleksandraviciute
Social editor: Gareth Jivan Philips
Read VCCP’s rules for those Cadbury ads that hit you in the feels.