Advertising
The product gained some notoriety for its highly sensual advertising since the 1960s. Television advertisements in Britain showed people – almost always women – enjoying a Flake whilst relaxing.[10] The Flake Girl became famous as a symbol of indulgence and secret pleasure.[11] Her emphasis – to a jingle ("Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before") – was on allowing herself a guilt-free luxury.[12]
The Flake song in these adverisements was composed by British jingle writer Ronnie Bond,[13] who also composed "Tasty tasty very very tasty" for Bran Flakes, and "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" for Coco Pops. Former Tyrannosaurus Rex percussionist Steve Peregrin Took wrote a song, Peppermint Flickstick, in 1970 as a satire on the campaign. The song was recorded that year by his band Shagrat and released in 1990.[14]
In 1999, a tribute advertisement to the Flake Girls of decades past was released.[12][15] The montage began with a clip of the very first Flake Girl advertisement from 1959, followed by a 1965 clip of a girl relaxing in a rowing boat whilst being pestered by a cheeky swan for a peck of her Flake bar. The next clip showed the 1973 advertisement of a doe-eyed artist in a field of poppies painting a watercolour and indulging in a Flake bar, before being caught in a summer shower. This was followed by a clip of the exotic 1987 ad in which a restless woman in silk negligee reposes on a window sill on a sultry night, indulging in a Flake bar whilst a gecko lizard is noted crawling over a ringing telephone. Next was a clip of the classical 1991 Flake advertisement in which a woman sporting a dark, cropped hairstyle reposes in an overflowing bath tub in a great painted hall. Lastly, this tribute montage advertisement ended with the latest Flake Girl advertisement (1999), featuring a Parisienne (portrayed by Mexican model Liliana Dominguez) relaxing in a summery garden overlooking the Eiffel Tower. As she bites into the Flake bar in her ice-cream, the garden sprinklers are set off and she is drenched in refreshing water.[15]
The Flake girl was finally retired after 40 years, in 2004.[16] However, in 2005 she was found to have a 19% recall in the UK population, leading to a revival in 2007.[17][18] The new advertisement featured Australian model Alyssa Sutherland eating a Flake in a convertible during a shower of rain.[19] British singer Joss Stone became the new Flake girl in 2008 – the first non-model to promote the product.[20] In the television advertisement she is seen breaking off a small piece of Flake before popping it into her mouth and brushing the crumbs off her blouse whilst softly singing the Flake theme song.
Cadbury dropped the "Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before" tagline after 50 years in 2010.[21] On 8 June 2010, a new advertisement (first aired on Channel 4) saw a woman float around on a black background. Whilst part of 'The Flake girl' series, there is no mention of any text or slogan aside from the image of the bar at the end of the advertisement, and the familiar music jingle is replaced by a haunting piano piece.[22]
Flake girls
- In 1984, the 20-year-old female model in the Flake advert dated the tennis player John McEnroe, after meeting at a party in mid-June 1984.[23][24] She also dated the English tennis player Buster Mottram.[25] She later appeared in Casanova.
- The actress in the canoe advert, Catrina Skepper, appears in the opening sequence of The Living Daylights, of 1987, and appeared as a presenter on the BBC The Heaven and Earth Show in the late 1990s. Aged 26 in 1989, she dated Viscount Linley.[26] Her father's sister, Gillian Mary Skepper, from Neuilly-sur-Seine,[27]
