Cadbury's plays it safe with new Trident 'Splash' campaign

LONDON - Cadbury's has dropped the controversial West Indian character in its new campaign for Trident chewing gum in favour of two British white males, but the company has no plans to drop the 'Mastication for the nation' strapline.

The ASA recently banned a TV spot featuring the West Indian comedian character used in Trident's launch campaign after deciding it could be seen as belittling to black or Caribbean people.

The advertising standards watchdog investigated after receiving more than 500 complaints, some of which accused the ad of racism.

The campaign strapline has also came in for criticism from commentators for a lack of eloquence but Cadbury's said it is committed to the line which features prominently in the new TV spot.

A Cadbury's spokesman said: "It's a popular slogan which is catching on and we support that. The whole idea of a revolution taking place in the chewing gum market with the introduction of Trident 'Splash' is taken a step further with our latest ad."

The new campaign, created by JWT London, includes PR activity and online advertising as well as a new TV spot. The ad shows two characters chaining their bodies to the gates of a factory to 'bring gum to the masses'.

Cadbury's confidence in the ‘Mastication for the nation' strapline appears to be borne out by sales of Trident 'Splash'.

Until Cadbury Trebor Bassett launched Trident in February, the chewing gum market was all but dominated by Wrigley, which has never faced any serious competition for market share.

But recent months have seen the confectionery giant's dominance challenged by Trident.

In spite of the ASA ban, the launch was a huge success and Cadbury Trebor Bassett managed to grab 15% of the UK's £240m chewing gum market overnight.

Wrigley, which maintained a robust 98% monopoly in the UK gum market before Trident, has already made its first move in a bid to shore up its dominance.

Last month, the family-owned company announced it is consolidating its £200m global advertising business into two advertising networks. The review is ongoing.

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