Cadbury Bournville Crying Bean Ad

Bournville has positioned itself as a luxurious dark chocolate, that is so fine and exclusive that "it has to be earned," unlike its chocolaty counterparts. Previously we've seen a butler smashed by a falling piano and a doubting thomas news reporter carried off by a giant bird. Humor has always been one of the main tenets of these ads, while also purporting an air of sophistication, regalia, and exclusivity, all the while being very British. The agency is Ogilvy.

The humor could be working on a subconscious level. By positioning itself as a premium brand and one that
"needs to be earned" but at the same time not taking itself too seriously gives a feeling of inclusivity rather than the displayed exclusivity. It disarms the viewer by making light of seriousness.

This particular ad shows a white man appraising Ghanian cocoa as the poor farmers watch. It could have been a scene right out of Blood Diamond, except the white man is extolling praises for the fine cocoa  instead of ill gotten jewels. He chooses only the best beans to become Bournvilles, but passes up the last one, which begins to weep. The appraiser apologizes, the farmers are distraught, and one finally throws it away with little sympathy. The ad ends with the appraiser's jeep driving away on a dusty road and the words "Maybe that's why you have to earn a Bournville." Watch it here.

Good:

• Bournville ads have always been interesting. Even if I don't like dark chocolate, I like to watch the ads. The British angle gives it a pompous luxury to it. The Blood Diamond scenario emphasizes it. We understand that only the best cocoa goes into this premium chocolate, but the humor kills the pomposity and makes it accessible by all.
• If the ad feels very authentic, it's because it was shot in Durban and Johannesburg.
• People are going to remember the crying bean for a long time.

Bad:

• Stereotyping? Rich white man comes to exploit poor African farmers? Rubbish. It's what makes the ad work. Only politically correct troublemakers out to start a fight would bring this up.
• I thought the presence of English subtitles for the English lines was a little weird. It doesn't destroy the ad, but it is strange. Did they think the audience would not understand the English accent? Or was it to double emphasize the Englishness? See how confused it's made me?
• The unsympathetic farmer throwing away the bean was a little mean. Now I'm picturing young gun-toting boys shooting at Leonardo Di Caprio.

All in all, there is not much bad you can say about this ad. Does it achieve its goal? It positions Bournville along its original lines, it does so with humor and gets its message across in a memorable way. Anything else is just nitpicking.

More info here.