The centrepiece of the campaign was a 90-second television and cinema advertisement, supported by related media purchases in billboards, magazines and newspapers, as well as sponsored events and an organised internet presence (contracted out to Hyper).

[2] The polling company YouGov reported that public perception of the brand had noticeably improved in the period following the launch, reversing the decline experienced in the first half of 2007.

Gorilla formed a major part of the pitch by Fallon London to draw Cadbury Schweppes away from its established contract with Carat in 2006.

Instead, Fallon proposed the production of "entertainment pieces" aimed at a broader range of consumers and spread through viral marketing – that is, through word of mouth.

[6] Cadbury's failure to inform the Food Standards Agency for five months led to an additional £1 million fine from the Crown Court in Birmingham.

[8] Other public relations blunders in the run-up to the campaign included the distribution of chocolate Easter eggs with traces of nuts without nut allergy warnings,[7] the cancellation of a £5 million campaign for Trident chewing gum after complaints of offensive marketing material,[3] and the temporary closure of Granary Burying Ground, a historic cemetery near Boston, United States, following a treasure hunt organised as a sales promotion.

[11][12] In the wake of these scandals, the success of Fallon's first media campaign was critical to the continued partnership with Cadbury, and the centrepiece television advertisement received the brunt of the attention.

While much of the suit had existed before the project, several adaptations were made, including custom-made hands for the drum sequence, foam muscle around the chest and shoulders, a new styling for the pelt, and the addition of a gold tooth, grey hairs and a studio earpiece.

[citation needed] The spot was filmed by the director of photography Daniel Bronks who inspired the concept when working with Juan Cabral on a previous project, and edited by Joe Guest at Final Cut, London.

Another variant of the advert was broadcast a week earlier before the semi-final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup between England and France on 13 October, with the face of the bass drum emblazoned with an English flag and the slogan "Come on Lads".

According to the UK newspaper The Guardian, "The new version pays homage to the internet mash-up artist who remixed the original with Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart".

[2] A number of spoofs and parodies were quickly uploaded by amateurs with the tacit approval of Cadbury,[19] and the British branch of Wonderbra created and uploaded their own, Dan Cadan-directed version of the advertisement, replacing the gorilla with the Wonderbra model (and musician) Jentina[20] with the Cadbury strapline "A glass and a half full of joy" being replaced with "Two cups full of joy".

[21] Gorilla was further parodied as an introduction to the second half of the 2007 Children in Need special, with an actor dressed as Pudsey Bear taking the central role.

[2][19] Notwithstanding the fact that the spot was originally only broadcast online and within the United Kingdom, the commercial appeared in the news in many English-speaking countries such as Canada and Australia, and plans were made for limited expansion of the campaign into those markets.

[29] On 5 September 2008, a second Gorilla advertisement, featuring Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", was broadcast on Channel 4 during the Big Brother 9 final.

The new version paid homage to the internet mash-up artist (Javier Malagón) who remixed the original with Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

In September 2009, Cadbury's Dairy Milk moved to Fairtrade cocoa beans, and a new record label based on Gorilla's campaign ("A Glass and a Half") saw the advert/song Zingolo.