Product Code Database
Flake is a British brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by chocolate company Cadbury. Consisting of thinly folded milk chocolate, the bar has a unique crumbly texture, and softens but does not melt when heated (unless put in a velvetiser).
By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake specifically for garnishing vanilla soft serve ice cream in a cone ("99 Flakes") which was served by ice cream vendors. First sold in the United Kingdom, they would later be sold in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and other nations. The later product, Cadbury Twirl, has two Flake-style bars covered in milk chocolate.
In 2021 and again in 2022, Mondelez announced that there were of Flakes in the UK and Ireland. In 2021 this was attributed to high levels of demand due to good weather.Javed, S., Cadbury confirms 99 Flake shortage in the UK , The Independent, published 18 May 2021, accessed 10 February 2023 In 2022, Mondelez attributed the shortages to "some global supply chain disruptions" alongside demand pressures.BBC News, Flake snag means 99 problems for ice cream sellers , published 14 June 2022, accessed 10 February 2023
/ref> however, experimental evidence by Australian food scientist Ann Reardon shows that the result can be recreated by seizing chocolate. Cooks Illustrated: Chocolate seizing )
Flakes were originally manufactured in Bournville but are now made in Dublin, Ireland, and 10th of Ramadan, Egypt.
The Flake song in these adverisements was composed by British jingle writer Ronnie Bond, who also composed "Tasty tasty very very tasty" for Bran Flakes, and "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" for Cocoa Krispies. 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.
In 1999, a tribute advertisement to the Flake Girls of decades past was released. 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 (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.
The Flake girl was finally retired after 40 years, in 2004. However, in 2005 she was found to have a 19% recall in the UK population, leading to a revival in 2007. The new advertisement featured Australian model Alyssa Sutherland eating a Flake in a convertible during a shower of rain. British singer Joss Stone became the new Flake girl in 2008 – the first non-model to promote the product. 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. 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.
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