The Cadbury’s gorilla adverts are one of the best adverts I have ever come across. In the advert, the gorilla plays several drums with great enthusiasm and energy, because of having consumed the Cadbury’s chocolate. The adverts uses a gorilla to illustrate that if such a huge animal can be able to have such an enchanting experience, then any individual who consumes the Cadbury’s product can have a similar delightful experience. Buying chocolate is usually an impulse decision and not many people actually plan for it. As a result, this adverts’ target audience would be children aged between the ages of 3 and 15 who are the primary consumers of chocolate. The advert also features a classical song from Phil Collins titled “In the Air Tonight”.
The need that this advert is trying to fulfill is the need for joy and contentment. In the advert, the gorilla breathes gracefully as if he is in a calm, contented mood. He beats the drums enthusiastically because of the joy in him. This emotion is also meant to resonate with the audience such that they can associate the need for joy and contentment with the product such that when they consume this particular product, they will exhibit similar feelings..
The advert is very effective in targeting the target consumer because it utilizes an object, in this case a gorilla that without a doubt captivates the audience. Children are often very passionate about animals and the use of a gorilla will definitely appeal to them. In addition, the use of a gorilla will be associated with freedom. Thus, the target audience will associate the product with a sense of escapism or freedom to explore worldly things.
The persuasive technique that the advert utilizes is humor. The use of a gorilla that is playing drums with extreme energy and enthusiasm is very humorous. This kind of humor would however most likely appeal to a teenage audience that the advert is essentially targeting.
I would indeed recommend the use of a similar technique for other products, especially those designed for a younger population. This is because the best way to capture the attention of such an audience is through the use of humor as well as the use of things that are close to their hearts, in this case animals. Example of products that could benefit from this technique are candy or biscuits.
References
Cadbury's Gorilla Advert (Aug 31st 2007). Retrieved January 14, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHtEyDrD4oA
Gorilla ad works its magic on sales of Cadbury bars - Brand Republic News. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2014, from http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/784573/Gorilla-ad-works-its-magic-sales-Cadbury-bars/
