16th November 2007
The Lingerie directory UK discovered this evening that one of the most successful viral advert campaigns ever to run in the UK has ran right off the rails.
Wonderbra had recreated the Cadbury's Gorillas ad exclusively for use online featuring twenty year old songwriter and model Jentina. She does a fantastic job imitating the Cadbury gorilla drumming to the Phil Collins' song 'In the Air Tonight' dressed only in a Wonderbra and jeans.
Whilst visitors to the Wonderbra UK website are still greeted by the self congratulatory message about how the ad is an internet sensation, when they click the invitation to 'watch it here' they land on You Tube with with the disappointing red text 'This video has been removed by the user'.
It raises some interesting issues, we don't yet know why Wonderbra have taken it down but if it was for copyright infringement what happens next? It is the nature of a viral advertisement campaign, which releases material on the internet to be propagated via social networks and video hosts, that once it is out there it is out there! Already there are eighteen other copies of it on You Tube alone, not to mention copies now emerging on other video hosting services.
In case you have missed them here is the original Cadbury advert and the Wonderbra spoof. We are awaiting a response from Wonderbra as to why they have taken such a successful video down after it has been viewed over quarter of a million times in a single week. We can only think of two potential reasons, either they have encountered legal issues, or they are about to take the campaign to the next level.
The campaign was overseen by marketing director Gordon Lee who Wonderbra manufacturer DB apparel recruited from Ann Summers back in September. Lee is no stranger to controversy, just last August an advertisement to promote Ann Summers Rampant Rabbit Wave vibrator was banned from being displayed on the tube network by Transport for London.
Lee has a reputation for smoothing over the waves though, back in 2005 when the family of author D.H. Lawrence complained about Ann Summers cashing in on the authors lascivious character with the 'Lady Chatterley' lingerie range it was Lee that stated ""Whatever the legal situation, we'll bend over backwards to accommodate." This despite the view held by most analysts that since Lawrence was dead, and Lady Chatterley was not a trademark, Pollinger who manage the Lawrence litery estate had little legal recourse. Pollinger accused Ann Summers of being a "mischievous company" and it seems that culture may be moving to DB Apparel with Lee.
Good luck is what we say, a bit of controversy, amusing marketing, it can only be good for the lingerie industry, and can we really see it damaging chocolate sales?
You can view the adverts side by side in this clever You Tube video.
Find Wonderbra at figleaves.com, plus beautiful lingerie and swimwear from over 250 other international brands.
Scoop: Wonderbra spoof on Cadbury's Gorilla ad taken down!
