Cadbury: I gotta be me

Cadbury aims to create a moment of joy with its new ‘Glass and a Half Full Production’ Cadbury Dairy Milk TV commercial, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburg, who came up with the innovative concept of a flying Ostrich. “The brief was to make people feel the same joy they experience when they eat Cadbury Dairy Milk, so we came up with the idea of using an Ostrich and thought that an Ostrich , being a bird, would find the ultimate joy in flying, so our Ostrich goes sky diving,” says Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburg’s Executive Creative Director, Adam Wittert.

The Reveal: The ad begins with a slow and deliberate reveal of an Ostrich who is walking through a stack of wooden crates. At first we’re not sure where he is, or what he is doing. He may be in a warehouse, in the hull of a ship, anywhere. Close-ups then show the Ostrich as determined and very focused. But on what? It is only revealed that he is in the cargo hold of an airplane when we see the cargo door start opening and at that stage realise he is about to jump out of the plane. The music, “I gotta be me” by Sammy Davis Jnr, begins to reach a crescendo as he limbers up and begins running towards the open door and the sky beyond. He jumps. This is his big moment of joy - thousands of feet up in the air, flying. He spreads his wings and manages to soar through the sky just like a real bird. At the very last second he pulls his ripcord and his parachute opens up and we end with the Ostrich drifting along happily under the purple branded parachute and the title, ‘A Glass and a Half Full of Joy.’ And that, says Wittert, is what the story and the brand are all about. “Eating Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate mirrors the same physical and emotional experience of pure joy.” He points out that Saatchi & Saatchi Johnnesburg ensured that the production was world-class. “From our Director Peter Truckle, to the choice of music, the aerial photography and the animatronic special-effects, we think we have achieved a memorable commercial,” he adds. “From a production point of view we pulled out all the stops, including building an exact replica of the interior of the airplane that is featured in the ad.”

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Johannesburg, South Africa
Creative Director: Adam Wittert
Art Director: Keisha Meyerson
Copywriter: Bruce Murphy
Illustrator: Bladeworks
Cinematography: Werner Maritz, Peter Samuelson
Director: Peter Truckel
Film Company: Catapult Commercials
Music & Sound Composition: Hey Pappa Legiond, Freqncy
Aired: August 2010