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Provocative Cadbury Fingers ad raises eyebrows
You probably don’t think of the words “racy” and “Cadbury” going together. Yet British discount chain Poundland has managed to weave the two together. Each Christmas, the store — which appears to enjoy controversy — finds a way to offend shoppers with its crude, sexual advertising campaigns.
When Poundland decided to advertise a £1 box of Cadbury Dairy Milk Fingers, there were many ways that its marketing execs could’ve gone about it. On Twitter, the retailer promoted its £1 Cadbury Fingers with a picture of a woman with her eyes closed and mouth opened, as if moaning in pleasure. And just in case the image wasn’t provocative enough, Poundland captioned it with, “For a friend who loves a good finger!”
A spokesperson for Poundland said: “At this time of year, giving our customers a laugh is our (all-female) social media team’s only job as Poundland fills the nation’s stockings.”
The Cadbury Fingers campaign has been applauded by several shoppers who recall that Poundland gets “horny” during the holiday season. Response to the creative, however, hasn’t been all that sweet.
One Twitter user wrote: “Harmless advertising or shameless and distasteful use of sex to sell? I wonder how @CadburyIreland feel about this?”
Another said: “In fairness, I love Cadbury’s chocolate fingers but they’ve never made me feel that good so definitely #falseadvertising at the very least.”
Some didn’t see the funny side at all, with a commenter writing: “Is it someone’s last day in the Poundland marketing team? And of course, you have sexualized a female in the making of the advert. Nice one.”
Poundland has since taken down the Cadbury Fingers tweet, but it appears that it’s not because it was pushed into guilt. According to the company, “things get even more talked about when you take them down.” What are your thoughts on this social media ad? Does it go too far, or is this simply a case of people who like to complain. Share your opinions below or on social media.