OUGD601: Context of Practice 3 - Practical Element, Case Study Research

For the third a final chapter in my critical writing extended essay I will focus on Kinder Bueno as Case Study, in which I take a more in-depth approach to discovering what emotional strategies are appropriate for chocolate advertising, how they are applied and there effectiveness. The information I gather in order to form this case study will directly influence the outcome for my practical piece and will give me a deeper understanding of the subject.

I chose Kinder Bueno in particular as there 'Not Only For Kids' campaign is prime example of Dichter's theory of assigning an image to a product in order to sell which I have looked at in subsequent chapters. In this example the image is sex, lust, pleasure.

I also felt the transition Kinder Bueno had made from being a product primarily aimed at children to an adult target market would make an interesting case study. I was interested in what specific strategies they had incorporating in order to successfully make this transition.

Kinder Bueno

• Kinder Bueno is made by Italain confectionery maker Ferrero 
• The name comes from 'Kinder' the German name for children and 'Bueno' the Spanish for good or tasty
• Previous products such as the Kinder surprise, a hollow egg which contained a small plastic capsule with a toy inside and Happy Hippos, a wafer coated hippo-shape biscuit are primarily marketed towards the children's market - This could be a explanation as to why their subsequent advertising for their Kinder Bueno was so shocking?

Not Only For Kids Campaign

• In 2002 Ferrero decided to change the image of Kinder Bueno and broaden the target group
• The campaign was devised by Polish advertising agency G7 consisting of Przemek Bogdanowicz, Maciek Kowalczuk and Kinga Grzelewska.
• The campaign addressed the adult audience with sexy images of young men and women whose lips bare visible traces of chocolate - quite playful, chocolate draws attention to the mouth, one of the more sexual aspects of a woman
• Slogan: Not Only For Kids - language is quite vague in order to enable the curious aspect of our imaginations wander, strong sexual connotations, explicit content?
• The photographs which were shot by Marek Straszewki had a very distinguishable warm and chocolate-like tone of colours - creates the impression that the two; chocolate and sex and/or pleasure are synonymous with each other
• The campaign started in Poland in 2003 and continued until 2005 - included outdoor (billboards, city light bus shelters and city buses) and ads in lifestyle magazines 
• The campaign attracted a lot of attention and achieved the goal of repositioning Kinder Bueno as a delicate chocolate bar for both kids and adults

• The print advertising challenged the common perception of Kinder Bueno, a TV spot was released to support the new brand image which depicted sexy young adults relishing their Kinder Bueno in an almost erotic manner
• The tagline for the TV ad was 'Feed your sense. Not only for kids'
• The ad won adults attention with it's pure image content
• Presenting Kinder Bueno as an indulgence for adults

Indulgence in Seduction Camapaign

• Showcasing the consumption of Kinder Bueno bar as a invitation to an exciting flirt 
• "indulgence as seduction" - implication of a deeper sexual meaning, more explicit than previous tagline 'not only for kids'. Indulgence acknowledges the idea of "guilty pleasure" encouraging the audience be naughty
• Obvious inspiration from the popular vampire genre of TV series as HBO's True Blood
• The male vampire is depicted standing behind the female subject with his hand placed on her wrist, in an attempt to seduce her. The proximity of his neck adds an element of danger to the situation - adds to the sexual excitement stimulated in the female model

Lick my Ripples Campaign

Lick My Ripples Ad, Skip to 1:52

• Mix up led tot he line 'you can lick my ripples' being broadcast on children's TV channels 
• Quotes from the ad: "Lick my ripples" "bite me bite me" "I'll be anything you want me to be"
• Ads appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang drawing complaints from nine viewers over the sexually aggressive nature of the ads 
• The Independent Television Commission was told by Turner broadcasting that a wrong instruction has been sent to the traffic department. This resulted in the Kinder Bueno ad being shown instead of Kinder Surprise

Conclusions from research

Kinder’s ability to be able to transform their brand from primarily aimed towards the children’s market into a brand which can successfully provoke feelings pleasure within an adult audience through one look at their advertising campaigns determinately evidences just how much influence emotional techniques in advertising can have upon a consumer when used effectively.