Galaxy Chocolate Adverts

Galaxy is consistent in promoting is chocolate for women (but obviously it is ok for men to eat it as well). In the 5 years leading upto 2007 the brand was the leading block confectionery and the fastest growing, with a staggering 18% year on year growth to the end of 2006. This goes to show that they clearly succeeded in reaching their target audience.


Most of their adverts show a woman at home alone, usually at night, about to sit down with a bar of Galaxy chocolate. The ideology that Galaxy is that special it is necessary to hide it is promoted, obviously suggesting that if you were to leave your bar of Galaxy in plain sight the experience would be too tempting to others. In the advert above these 'others' are pointed out to us to also be female (evidently the leading characters friends and house-mates) by the photo on a cupboard door). It is also suggested that nobody is exempt from this temptation, as the lead character cannot determine which one of her house-mates ate the Galaxy from the fridge; "who was it this time?" which highlights to us it is something they have each done before.
The impression is also given in Galaxy's advertisements, that eating the chocolate is not something you do as a side-task to something else, i.e consume it while you watch TV, it is promoted as a primary objective and in fact, if anything, you would be watching a bit of TV as an accompaniment to eating the chocolate, focusing more on the chocolate.
Galaxy like Cadbury is advertised to offer an emotional experience; the lead woman is happy and relieved when she discovers her other hiding place has not been compromised. Galaxy however unlike Cadbury is given a bit of a sex appeal firstly in its association with women, but secondly and more obviously in that it is shown being eaten in a slow, sensual, methodic, savouring way.

It is arguable that a lot of people might prefer the taste of Galaxy to its rival Cadbury, but it is clear in research that Cadbury have created better and longer remembered adverts than Galaxy; http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid19475236001?bctid=1815800170




In recent years, with the concern over healthy eating, organic food, global warming, fair trade/child labour, wildlife and rainforest preservation and other such issues, many firms are adapting their demographic to make a difference, particularly those who actively would effect it if not. Galaxy is one of these brands, and in its new advert focuses on the fact they are now part of the 'Rainforest Alliance' to help support cocoa growing communities in Africa. "So not only does Galaxy taste good, it does good". The advert manages to focus on this without distracting too much from their iconic idea of a female alone at home, about to sit down especially to enjoy a bar of galaxy.