Bitter Battles End with Bournville Chocolate

​Cadbury has unveiled a major new integrated brand campaign for its dark chocolate brand, Bournville- the first in nearly 50 years. The campaign marks the iconic product’s return to advertising and introduces a new brand platform: ‘Made to be enjoyed, not endured’ by global creative agency of record VCCP.

The punchy campaign positions Bournville as the antithesis of bitter hard-to-enjoy dark chocolate. At the heart of the campaign is a comic 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 award-winning comedy director Harold Einstein brought the idea to life, in collaboration with VCCP's global content creation studio Girl&Bear. The script was written by VCCP creatives Alice Goodrich, Lara Baxter and Simon Connor. Once the script was formed, VCCP worked with Harold 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 hilariously sharp and self-aware film that flips category conventions on their head – and firmly positions Bournville as the antidote to dark chocolate elitism.

Alongside the 30” spot, a longer 90” version was produced to land even more laughs – 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.

​Elise Burditt, senior marketing director at Mondelez, 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."

​Chris Birch and Jonny Parker, CCOs at VCCP, 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.”

Simon Connor, creative director at VCCP said, "Bournville is an OG dark chocolate from a time before tasting notes of tree bark and percentages that would make your mouth cry. The team has created something that is as enjoyably straight forward as Bournville itself. A campaign to be enjoyed, not endured.”

The campaign now live and will run across the UK. Media planning and buying was led by Publicis Media UK. Supporting activity across organic social and eCRM was led by Elvis.