Cadbury

Well, it's been a month. An entire month. I have been living in Brisbane for a month.

I'm a bit more upbeat today. Although I still have yet to get a good night's sleep, I have not seen a cockroach in days. Yes, I was flustered by Geoff Allen's email, but I took his advice, contacted Rent Centre, and received a wonderfully kind reply from the lovely Alexandra in less than twelve hours. Alexandra is sending pest control my way immediately. I am tempted to forward her reply to Geoff (whose name I pronounce Gee-off, not Jeff - what pretentious parents do that to their son?) with a big fat, thanks for nothing!

Conor, on the other hand, has not experienced the same luck in his daily crusades. Unfortunately, he has yet to hear from Brisbane City Council in regard to a letter of concern he submitted on Monday morning (they should be taking this urban planner seriously!). In addition, he had an argument with Comcast over the telephone this morning and in response, filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The Comcast employee refused to let Conor speak with her supervisor. Imagine that. Stupid cable monopoly. We paid for the NHL package and we will continue to receive it, gosh darn it! Who cares if Australians don't play hockey? Or can't keep ice frozen long enough to learn to skate? Even if we can't transfer our credit and watch the last few Sabres games online, we should at least get a refund, right? $180 for half a season - that doesn't seem fair.

Aside from battling the man, we have been busy playing Settlers of Catan with Adam Vest, watching movies and "new" episodes of Law & Order SVU, and whipping up recipes in the kitchen. We have also been planning a few weekend trips to Noosa and Byron Bay. Although it is still 85 degrees outside, it is technically autumn in Brisbane and as soon as winter hits, hotel and resort rates drop even lower than they are now. I have no problem going on vacation in the dead of winter. In fact, 70 degrees sounds quite lovely right now.

For the first time in a month, it is raining. Well, I suppose that is a bit of an exaggeration. It has sprinkled off and on over the past four weeks, but it is pouring today. Conor woke up to rain at 5:30 this morning and it is still raining now at 3:45 in the afternoon. I ran from the apartment to Conor's office, and over an hour and a half later, I am still soaked.

In all of our t.v. watching, we have found a new favorite advertisement. Since Cadbury chocolate only turns up in the States around Easter time, sharing this video seems appropriate. Cadbury is the Hershey's of the UK and Australia. (But unfortunately, I cannot seem to find those delicious chocolate eggs with the pastel speckled hard candy shell...hmph.)

While I planned to just share the advertisement with you, Conor has suggested I do a little experiment as well. If your first name begins with the letter A-L, watch Video Number 1 first. If your first name begins with the letter M-Z, watch Video Number 2 first.

Check out the videos (in the suggested order!) and then I'll share the controversy.

Video Number 1



Video Number 2



Great, right? Imagine lounging around the house, flipping through the channels, and coming across a pair of monstrous notrils. What on earth is he doing? Wait, he's playing the drums? Who's singing? Oh my God, I LOVE the eighties! Yes, that's the reaction I had. I think it was John Farnham that inspired me to email Geoff in the first place. Okay, that might be a bit extreme.

Well, in 2007 Cadbury released this video in the UK paired with Phil Collin's "In the Air Tonight". The advertising campaign was a huge success in both Australia and the UK. Just a couple weeks ago, Cadbury paired the video with John Farnham's "You're the Voice". Farnham performed at the Bushfire Relief Concert, along with Midnight Oil (one of my and Glenn's personal favorites), Coldplay, and some overrated group known as Kings of Leon. I will admit, "You're the Voice" is quite inspiring and since people are humming the tune anyway, why not pair it with the fabulous video? Right?

Wrong. Apparently quite a few people are upset with Cadbury's new "revived" Australian campaign. The gorilla was great the first time, why mess around and toss Phil aside for John? Anyway, we're curious to see which gorilla you like more. Share your thoughts.