Okay, so Cadbury recently brought back the Milk Tray Man for a new generation of chocolate-loving women. And men who are so inclined.
True to form, the Milk Tray Man is indeed a man. Are we going to cry ‘sexism!’? Nope. Not this time. Because this isn’t (entirely) about gender. This is about chocolate sales and publicity, and not much else.
At first, yes, the competition to become the next Milk Tray Man was apparently open to all. Anyone could apply, including aspiring Milk Tray Women. But the bigger injustice here is that Cadbury picked an established model/actor. Who happens to be a firefighter. I think this is the part where I’m meant to swoon.
We gave ordinary Joes and Janes the idea that they might make the cut. That they, too, could be the thinking woman’s Forrest Gump with a helicopter and a black turtleneck. It was always – always – going to be someone safe for the brand. Someone who is coincidentally a proper manly man’s man with previous acting experience.
I should’ve called this from the start. “Oooh, the Milk Tray Man could be a woman!” As if. As if they held auditions for months on it. No way. This was calculated to be as reassuringly predictable as possible.
Cadbury has been getting enough bad press as it is lately. They seem to have changed the chocolate recipe and made Creme Eggs a bit rubbish. Purists amongst you will also have noted a new shape for Dairy Milk bars and a distinct lack of Bourneville in Heroes tubs.
The most ironic change is the loss of two fingers from Cadbury’s Fingers packs. Two fingers. Which I’m sure many people would love to stick up.
These little adjustments have cost the Cadbury company millions, and are largely being blamed on relatively new owners Mondelez International. It might be slightly more than the takeover of a steadfastly British brand by an American company that’s left such a bitter taste in our mouths.
So. How does a brand come back from all this?
By distracting us with a shiny new man with muscles and just the right amount of facial hair. I suspect this strategy was heavily borrowed (read: half-inched) from Diet Coke.
It should also come as no surprise that the new Milk Tray campaign’s been revealed just in time for Valentine’s Day. That time of the year when we’re expected to buy as much chocolate as possible in the name of love. I think I might be selfish and go for a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. (“It’s not Terry’s, it’s mine!” Now THAT’S what you call a female-focused brand…)
