Cadbury defends its new ‘generous blocks’ Joyville campaign
Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate has this morning defended its most recent Joyville campaign after the brand was criticised by the ABC’s The Checkout for misleading consumers.
The program highlighted how the company has reduced the size of Cadbury Dairy Milk blocks from 250g to 200g before raising the size to 220g and promoting its new ‘generous improvements’ with the tagline: “now bigger in every piece.”
In a fictional complaint letter a customer lambasts the brand for: “a miserly 20 gram mitigation so soon after unceremonious stripping away 50 gorgeous grams is trumpeted as offering 10 per cent more joy — THE HIDE.”
It is sad to see that despite a stunning brand campaign that consumers are being hit harder in the pocket in some instances.
Regarding the comment “the majority of our blocks increasing from 200g to a new 220g pack, without a change to the recommended retail price (RRP) which is terrific value” – it would be great to know what percentage of the range have increased vs decreased.
It was a great story last night. The Checkout is an excellent show and a real eye-opener.
It’s scenarios like this, when brands are plain deceptive and use their PR techniques, that makes me ashamed to be in our industry.
No Cadbury, your block has had a net decrease in size, so no change in price means the product has in fact, become more expensive. Do you think consumers are stupid? (don’t answer that).
Take it on the chin Cadbury. Consumers have more power than ever and you were caught out. Learn from it and embrace it; don’t just leave the spin doctors to defend it.
To quote Lance Corporal Jones from “Dad’s Army”…..”They don’t like it up em!”
Cadbury – cop it on the chin. You were caught out.
When will my fellow corporate fire fighters get it – delivering quotes such as Cadbury has done in this story, ie; “…thrilled to be bringing more joy to Australia’s…” is insulting to consumers, particularly in light of the product having recently downsized. Maybe its better to just let the zephyr blow through rather than bring extra attention to it via shoddy & unbelievable corporate affairs quotes. But I still love their fuit & nut!
What a joke Cadbury. How much more do you want to insult your consumers with the even more value line. You have robbed them of 30g – why make a campaign out of that?
one of the worst PR responses ever
they simply should have said nothing
the demand for Cadbury’s chocolate is so volume (price) elastic and the ABC’s viewership is so small, it wouldn’t have made any difference to sales
the segment on the Checkout was brilliant though. It’s a great show
I think Cadbury are trying to have it both ways, more or less, by upsizing their downsize and suggesting everyone would be happy about being offered BS.
The question should not be about the increase or whether its right to talk about it, but rather why Cadbury dropped from 250g to 200g two or three years.
They won’t say it, but there’s a good chance it was at least partly due to price pressure from the supermarkets.
The retailers started displaying price per gram on the shelf tickets and pushing their house brands, exposing Cadbury’s relatively poor value for money; at least on a gram for gram basis. So now they’re having to fix a problem they didn’t want to have in the first place.
All parts of the joys of being an FMCG brand in Australia today.
What is even more guiling is the Cadburys / Mars / Nestlé policy of advising retailers not to display price in NSW. At uni I campaigned for our student union to display the retail price but that was to much for them.
I have a simple policy.
no price no buy.
I have fond memories of the Cadbury brand as being something special when I was a child. I stopped buying it when they changed the shape of the squares several years ago. I also stopped buying Kellogs products when they downsized their products and kept charging the same price.
I hate it when these companies take our emotional connection to their brand for granted.
“In today’s climate”
What is this the great depression?
I think Cadbury are promoting the old adage that less is more.
Everyone is talking about Cadbury dropping from 250g to 200g then returning to 220g (as if they are giving us something). I agree it is a joke but no-one has mentioned that the Bubbly blocks went from 200g to 155g, what is the go there. I was disgusted with that and put it back on the shelf. Maybe that is what we all have to start doing. Truly, some of these organisations must think we are all stupid. Aldi’s Choceur range it quite good and very reasonably priced. The dark and white melt down very well for your cooking and drizzle well on your slices.
I remember chocoloate makers doing something eerily similar in the 80’s.
Surely this is all a sophisticated literary joke from Cadbury? A central example of “newspeak” and propaganda in “1984” is the rewriting of history to recast the reducation of the choco ration as an increase.
In the book this deception is rightly shown to be insidious, yet commonplace. And yet here it is in Australia perfectly replicated in every detail.
Comrades! We are pleased to announce that as of today, your weekly chocolate ration has increased from 100g to 80g! All hail the Great Leader for his generosity and benevolence!