AdMiration: Cadbury Creme Egg’s “How do you eat yours?” (2024)

Each week, we’ll be analyzing consumers’ reactions to new and noteworthy ads from brands around the world to give you our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) followed by a deeper dive into how consumers responded.

This week, we researched Cadbury Creme Egg’s “How do you eat yours?” ad, which offers a refreshing new take on their tagline from 20 years ago. Read on to learn how the ad was received with a breakdown based on our data.

The ad opens with a scene of a lady taking a bite of a Cadbury Creme Egg, looking intensely at the camera as a voiceover says, “The way you eat a Creme Egg says everything about you.”

Heather, the lady in the opening shot, is introduced as someone who likes to nibble hers while maintaining eye contact. As the ad continues, the audience discovers how this defines Heather’s personality through a number of humorous scenarios in which she asserts dominance while continuing to eat her Creme Egg.

The ad closes, encouraging the viewers to take an online test to find out who they really are based on how they eat a Cadbury Creme Egg, ending with the slogan “How do you eat yours?”

For context, the "How do you eat yours?" slogan isn’t new for Cadbury Creme Egg. But it is the first time they’ve used the slogan in 20 years! Their marketing team shared how they were keen to bring out what's truly different about the brand, which is the eating experience.

3 facts

• The ad is highly successful in driving short and long term impact; scoring in the top 20% of all UK ads for potential to drive immediate sales and in the top 25% for potential to drive brand equity and long-term sales.

• It’s significantly distinctive compared to other ads and positions Cadbury Creme Egg as a highly differentiated brand in the chocolate category as it focuses on the eating experience.

• The ad does a great job communicating a clear message about individuality through a humorous narrative full of laughter that captivates the viewer from start to finish.

2 learnings

• Tapping into an insight around product consumption can truly make your ad stand out — it speaks directly to the consumer, making it resonant and ownable.

• Delivering multiple peaks of positive emotion throughout an ad is a great way to keep the audience engaged.

1 reflection

Are you making the most of your insights around brand consumption to inform your creative work? Understanding how consumers consume or use your product might just highlight how unique it is within the category and bring out that creative edge your advertising campaigns are missing.

And with the ad performing significantly above the norm in uniqueness of brand impressions, about 40% of respondents said the ad could only have been for Cadbury Creme Egg!

The brand recall (or an audience’s unaided ability to remember the brand afterwards) was also significantly above the norm among an older audience (>45), which is likely due to the brand being present in their lives longer.

But what really makes this ad is the constant flow of humor throughout. In the graph above, you can see how it delivers consistent spikes of laughter that captivates the audience. The average chocolate ad tends to generate a stronger love reaction, but Cadbury Creme Egg truly set themselves apart by bringing the quirkiness the brand is known for.

And people loved how unique the ad felt and how it grabbed their attention straight away! It was lighthearted, funny, straightforward and conveyed a message about individuality. The ad also sparks a level of curiosity, encouraging viewers to find out what kind of person they really are based on how they eat their Creme Eggs, making it fun and interactive.

Here’s what some respondents had to say:

• "The examples of how the lady eating the egg lived her life were funny and inspiring. It seemed like an advert that could make anyone feel they can eat a Cadbury Creme Egg which is nice."

• "I liked the central message about how many different ways in which you can eat a Creme Egg can help tell you about a person's personality. I liked the short scenes in the surgery and in the restaurant together with the pantomime horse."

• "I liked that the ad was a bit quirky and different. The humorous moments were enjoyable and it made me interested to find out what my Creme Egg personality is."

• "They have tapped in on a popular sentiment because people do have conversations about the best way to eat them in real life"

While the ad appeals to a broad audience, it feels very targeted to the brand's existing customers, highlighting an eating experience unique to them and bringing them in on an inside joke. So it's not surprising to see the ad resonates much more with regular consumers and is more effective in persuading them to buy the product (see chart below).

Overall, consumers seem to love this ad (especially those 45 and older) and were thoroughly entertained by it! And with Easter on the horizon, the ad is perfectly timed to spark the urge (particularly among existing consumers) to go out and get a Cadbury Creme Egg.

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