It’s one of the most enduring TV sponsorship deals, but in the wake of its salmonella scare, chocolate giant Cadbury has temporarily pulled its sponsorship of Coronation Street until the hoopla and investigations have calmed down a touch.
Is this the right move? I’m not so sure. The partnership between ITV (ne Granada) and Cadbury is in its tenth year, and the branding is so fused with Corrie’s identity that it’s going to look mighty peculiar to have episodes going out without it after all these years…
I’m no fan of corporate sponsorship, but it’s here and clearly isn’t going anywhere, so I’m not sure of the benefit in pulling the idents, even if only for a couple of days. In a time of crisis like this, trying to put your head in the sand and pretend you don’t exist is counter-productive. Keep your consumers reassured that you’re still in business, that you’re still the nation’s favourite and once this all settles down you’ll all be stuffing your faces with Dairy Milk again. Won’t you?
But is there something we’re not being told here? The reporting of this story puts the slant on Cadbury having pulled the idents, but could this be spin from ITV? Has the channel itself requested the removal of Cadbury’s name to protect the reputation of Coronation Street as the nation’s favourite soap and keep its hands squeaky, cosily clean? That, in the grand scheme of things, would make a great deal more sense and a move I couldn’t argue with.
When the idents do come back, I think the Cadbury board should personally go to every viewer’s house, handing out free chocolate in the shape of Fred Elliott at about 7.29 pm. It’d work for me!
