Wispa
Encyclopedia
Wispa is a brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by Cadbury UK. The bar was launched in 1981 as a trial version in North East England
and with its success it was introduced nationally in 1983. It was seen as a competitor to Rowntree's Aero
(Now owned by Nestlé).
In 2003, as part of a relaunch of the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand, the Wispa brand was discontinued and the product relaunched as "Dairy Milk Bubbly". As part of the relaunch, the product was reshaped as a standard moulded bar (similar to other 'Dairy Milk' products) instead of a whole-bar count-line. However, in 2007, helped by an internet campaign, the Wispa bar was relaunched, albeit for a "limited period". In October 2008 Wispa returned again to shops in the UK and Ireland due to the chocolate bar's popularity during the previous limited period release.
A product known as Cadbury's Wispa, resembling a moulded Dairy Milk bar with bubbles and with different packaging, is available in some other countries, including Romania.
or nitrogen
while at a high pressure which causes microscopic gas bubbles to form within the liquid. The liquid is then brought down to atmospheric pressure as it cools, causing the gas pockets to expand and become trapped in the chocolate.
The original Wispa, launched in 1983, relaunched in 2007 (Temporary) and 2008 (Permanent).
Wispa with caramel, launched in 1995, relaunched for a limited time in 2009. Discontinued in 2010. Relaunched in 2011 (Permanent).
Wispa with mint filling, launched in 1997. Currently discontinued.
Wispa with caramel and biscuit, launched in 2000. Currently discontinued.
Wispa with coffee, launched in 2000. Currently discontinued.
Sold at Easter, first sold in the 1980s, sold again in 2009 and 2011.
This "king size" Wispa, contains two smaller bars within one wrapper; similar design and name to the Mars Duo. Wispa Duo was launched in 2010. Discontinued in 2011.
advertisements in 1983 bearing the phrase "Have you heard the Wispa?" but without identifying the product as a chocolate bar. Original Wispa advertisements, all performed to camera in front of a black background, featured well known actors such as Paul Eddington
, Nigel Hawthorne
, Victoria Wood
, Julie Walters
, Simon Cadell
, and Ruth Madoc
. John Le Mesurier
and Arthur Lowe
also made a final appearance as their characters from Dad's Army
.
At the time of its comeback in 2008, Wispa was re-launched using large outdoor posters featuring the tagline "It's back. Apparently." and smaller, roadside posters featuring conversations about Wispa returning, which read; "Apparently, the Wispa thing is true. It's coming back. Finally. Brilliant." In December 2009, Wispa aired a television advert entitled "For the love of Wispa", starring members of the public recruited from an earlier advertising campaign. The advert included cheerleaders, choirs and grandparents, and was aired on 20 December at 8 pm on ITV.
In 2009, to mark the return of Wispa Gold, Wispa gave away the launch advertising campaign for the bar to fans. The outdoor poster campaign which followed saw over 7,000 submissions and featured over 900 different posters across Britain and Ireland".
by taking existing brands and marketing them as Dairy Milk sub-brands. As part of this change, the Wispa brand was phased out and replaced by "Dairy Milk Bubbly".
Since the discontinuation of the Wispa bar in 2003, a host of internet campaigns and an online petition to bring it back slowly gained momentum. During Iggy and the Stooges' 2007 performance at Glastonbury Festival
, several Wispa fans invaded the stage armed with a banner saying "Bring Back the Wispa." In addition, several "Bring Back Wispa" groups on Bebo
, MySpace
and Facebook
were set up. In August 2007, these campaigns prompted Cadbury to announce that the bar would be relaunched on 8 October 2007 for an initial limited production of 23 million bars, with a permanent return possible if sales are high enough. Predictions that the relaunched product would be marketed as Wispa Classic proved unfounded, and the new Wispa hit shelves in similar packaging to the original bar, a combination of the original colours and the slightly updated lettering style of the later bars. There have been claims that the spontaneous 'campaign' was pre-planned and orchestrated by Cadbury, rather than by members of the public.
On 24 August 2007, the first box of the relaunched Wispas was put up for auction on eBay
, with a press release from Cadbury saying that the auction was real and that the proceeds (the winning bid was £195.00) were going toward the Cadbury Charity, Ghana for the Source.
In February 2008, Rebecca Wells auctioned an original out-of-date Wispa bar, which she found in a sofa, on eBay for the charity LAM Action
. The initial winning bid of £2,550 was found by eBay to be "unauthorised". It has since been re-listed, and raised £1000 for the charity.
The bar returned on a permanent basis in October 2008. Prior to the permanent launch of Wispa, for a limited time a Wispa McFlurry was available at McDonald's
restaurants until 30 September 2008.
During Easter 2009, a Wispa Easter Egg was made.
On 14 September 2009, Wispa Gold was relaunched for a limited time, following a Facebook
campaign. The product was initially released for sale at Foreways on Warwick Road in Carlisle two weeks earlier, after the shop had been chosen from many around the country as part of a competition. As at 20 January 2010, Wispa Gold is once again available in Australia (having been previously marketed as the Crave bar) following parallel importing by Coles Supermarkets.
On 26 August 2011, it was announced that Wispa Gold would return permanently in November in support of team GB at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
and with its success it was introduced nationally in 1983. It was seen as a competitor to Rowntree's Aero
Aero (chocolate)
Aero is a milk chocolate bar filled with bubbles of air, made by Nestlé and primarily sold in the United Kingdom , the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Middle East and Canada.-History:...
(Now owned by Nestlé).
In 2003, as part of a relaunch of the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand, the Wispa brand was discontinued and the product relaunched as "Dairy Milk Bubbly". As part of the relaunch, the product was reshaped as a standard moulded bar (similar to other 'Dairy Milk' products) instead of a whole-bar count-line. However, in 2007, helped by an internet campaign, the Wispa bar was relaunched, albeit for a "limited period". In October 2008 Wispa returned again to shops in the UK and Ireland due to the chocolate bar's popularity during the previous limited period release.
A product known as Cadbury's Wispa, resembling a moulded Dairy Milk bar with bubbles and with different packaging, is available in some other countries, including Romania.
Manufacture
The tiny bubbles within the chocolate are formed by aerating the molten chocolate with gas, typically carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
or nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
while at a high pressure which causes microscopic gas bubbles to form within the liquid. The liquid is then brought down to atmospheric pressure as it cools, causing the gas pockets to expand and become trapped in the chocolate.
Types
- Wispa
The original Wispa, launched in 1983, relaunched in 2007 (Temporary) and 2008 (Permanent).
- Wispa Gold
Wispa with caramel, launched in 1995, relaunched for a limited time in 2009. Discontinued in 2010. Relaunched in 2011 (Permanent).
- Wispa Mint
Wispa with mint filling, launched in 1997. Currently discontinued.
- Wispa Bite
Wispa with caramel and biscuit, launched in 2000. Currently discontinued.
- Wispaccino
Wispa with coffee, launched in 2000. Currently discontinued.
- Wispa Easter Egg
Sold at Easter, first sold in the 1980s, sold again in 2009 and 2011.
- Wispa Duo
This "king size" Wispa, contains two smaller bars within one wrapper; similar design and name to the Mars Duo. Wispa Duo was launched in 2010. Discontinued in 2011.
Advertising
The bar was launched by teaserTeaser
A teaser is a type of gambling bet that allows the bettor to combine his bets on two different games. The bettor can adjust the point spreads for the two games, but realizes a lower return on the bets in the event of a win....
advertisements in 1983 bearing the phrase "Have you heard the Wispa?" but without identifying the product as a chocolate bar. Original Wispa advertisements, all performed to camera in front of a black background, featured well known actors such as Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:...
, Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
, Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
, Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
, Simon Cadell
Simon Cadell
Simon John Cadell was an English actor.Born in London, he was the grandson of the Scottish character actor Jean Cadell, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner. He was educated at Bedales School at Petersfield where his close friends included Gyles...
, and Ruth Madoc
Ruth Madoc
Ruth Madoc is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Gladys Pugh in the 1980s BBC television comedy Hi-de-Hi!, and as Daffyd Thomas's mother in the second series of Little Britain.-Early life:...
. John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
and Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
also made a final appearance as their characters from Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
.
At the time of its comeback in 2008, Wispa was re-launched using large outdoor posters featuring the tagline "It's back. Apparently." and smaller, roadside posters featuring conversations about Wispa returning, which read; "Apparently, the Wispa thing is true. It's coming back. Finally. Brilliant." In December 2009, Wispa aired a television advert entitled "For the love of Wispa", starring members of the public recruited from an earlier advertising campaign. The advert included cheerleaders, choirs and grandparents, and was aired on 20 December at 8 pm on ITV.
In 2009, to mark the return of Wispa Gold, Wispa gave away the launch advertising campaign for the bar to fans. The outdoor poster campaign which followed saw over 7,000 submissions and featured over 900 different posters across Britain and Ireland".
Discontinuation and relaunch
In 2003 Cadbury made Dairy Milk into a family brandFamily branding
Family branding is a marketing strategy that involves selling several related products under one brand name. Family branding is also known as umbrella branding...
by taking existing brands and marketing them as Dairy Milk sub-brands. As part of this change, the Wispa brand was phased out and replaced by "Dairy Milk Bubbly".
Since the discontinuation of the Wispa bar in 2003, a host of internet campaigns and an online petition to bring it back slowly gained momentum. During Iggy and the Stooges' 2007 performance at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, several Wispa fans invaded the stage armed with a banner saying "Bring Back the Wispa." In addition, several "Bring Back Wispa" groups on Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
, MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
were set up. In August 2007, these campaigns prompted Cadbury to announce that the bar would be relaunched on 8 October 2007 for an initial limited production of 23 million bars, with a permanent return possible if sales are high enough. Predictions that the relaunched product would be marketed as Wispa Classic proved unfounded, and the new Wispa hit shelves in similar packaging to the original bar, a combination of the original colours and the slightly updated lettering style of the later bars. There have been claims that the spontaneous 'campaign' was pre-planned and orchestrated by Cadbury, rather than by members of the public.
On 24 August 2007, the first box of the relaunched Wispas was put up for auction on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, with a press release from Cadbury saying that the auction was real and that the proceeds (the winning bid was £195.00) were going toward the Cadbury Charity, Ghana for the Source.
In February 2008, Rebecca Wells auctioned an original out-of-date Wispa bar, which she found in a sofa, on eBay for the charity LAM Action
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare lung disease that results in a proliferation of disorderly smooth muscle growth throughout the lungs, in the bronchioles, alveolar septa, perivascular spaces, and lymphatics, resulting in the obstruction of small airways and lymphatics...
. The initial winning bid of £2,550 was found by eBay to be "unauthorised". It has since been re-listed, and raised £1000 for the charity.
The bar returned on a permanent basis in October 2008. Prior to the permanent launch of Wispa, for a limited time a Wispa McFlurry was available at McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurants until 30 September 2008.
During Easter 2009, a Wispa Easter Egg was made.
On 14 September 2009, Wispa Gold was relaunched for a limited time, following a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
campaign. The product was initially released for sale at Foreways on Warwick Road in Carlisle two weeks earlier, after the shop had been chosen from many around the country as part of a competition. As at 20 January 2010, Wispa Gold is once again available in Australia (having been previously marketed as the Crave bar) following parallel importing by Coles Supermarkets.
On 26 August 2011, it was announced that Wispa Gold would return permanently in November in support of team GB at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.