Bournville battles bitter image in first ad for 50 years

Cadbury has returned to the dark side with its first integrated brand campaign for Bournville in nearly 50 years, with a new brand platform “Made to be enjoyed, not endured”.

Devised by VCCP, the activity is designed to position Bournville as the antithesis of bitter hard-to-enjoy dark chocolate.

At the heart of the campaign is a film that follows two puffed-up dark chocolate aficionados locked in a game of escalating one-upmanship – trading obscure cacao origins and elaborate tasting notes.

While they spar over complex tasting notes of their artisanal bars, a Bournville fan quietly enjoys a chunk of smooth, simple dark chocolate – entirely unimpressed.

Production company Outsider and director Harold Einstein brought the idea to life, in collaboration with VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl & Bear.

Once the script was formed, VCCP worked with Einstein and BAFTA-winning British comedy writer Simon Blackwell (Veep, Peep Show, The Thick of It) to hone the jokes and collaborate on new material.

The result is a film that aims to flip category conventions on their head by positioning Bournville as the antidote to dark chocolate elitism.

Alongside the 30″ spot, a longer 90″ version was produced with even more material improvised on set during the shoot.

The integrated campaign will also roll out across out-of-home, radio, YouTube, video-on-demand and social, with distinctive red-and-white Bournville branding and bold typographic headlines that highlight the simple pleasure of the chocolate itself.

The OOH posters spotlight an oversized, glossy chunk of Bournville chocolate, set against a striking red background – celebrating the brand’s unmistakable heritage with a refreshed, vintage-modern look.

Media planning and buying has been led by Publicis Media UK, while Elvis is running organic social and eCRM activity.

Mondelez senior marketing director Elise Burditt said: “This work is a confident reappraisal of a chocolate that’s been quietly loved for decades. Part of Cadbury, Bournville is a fabric of the nation brand. With this campaign, we’re bringing Bournville back into the national conversation – but in a way that reflects the times. We’re excited for the nation to see Bournville in a whole new light.”

VCCP chief creative officers Chris Birch and Jonny Parker added: “Bournville. The chocolate that just observes as all the other chocolates around it slowly lose their minds – chasing latest fads and fashions. A chocolate this legendary deserves famous work that populates culture which is what we see this new platform doing.”