The 1970s was when TV advertising really came into its own. Cadbury struck gold with hugely successful campaigns for brands including Flake, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut and Whole Nut, Fry’s Turkish Delight, Fudge and Milk Tray.
With just 1 UK commercial channel (and way before the advent of other distractions like computer games and the internet), TV held the undivided attention of the British public, making it a hugely powerful medium, and turning these products into the UK’s most famous brands.
Flake, with its long-running campaign of sultry ‘Flake Girls’ enjoying their chocolate alone, was one of the biggest winners, with sales growing to four times previous figures. Anyone who grew up in the 70s will also remember the much-loved ads for Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut (‘Everyone’s a fruit and nut case’), and Whole Nut (‘NUTS whole hazel nuts, Cadbury take them and they cover them with chocolate’). Between 1970-74 sales of these two products increased by 73%.
And if the Flake Girls appealed to men, what woman could resist the ‘Milk Tray Man’. This hunky James Bond-style character piloted helicopters, dived off cliffs and drove speed boats to leave his calling card – and of course a box of Milk Tray chocolates.