Product type | Confectionery |
---|---|
Owner | Cadbury |
Country | United Kingdom |
Introduced | 1920 |
Related brands | List of Cadbury products |
Markets | Worldwide |
Flake is a brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by Cadbury consisting of thinly folded milk chocolate.
The product was first developed in 1920 and was discovered by chance by an employee of Cadbury's at the Bournville factory who noticed thin streams of excess chocolate falling from moulds cooled into flaky ripples.
By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake specifically for prodding into vanilla soft serve ice cream in a cone ("99 Flakes") which was served by ice cream vendors. First sold in Britain, they would later be sold in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and other nations. Screwballs are similar but have a plastic cone rather than a wafer.
Several varieties of Flake have been produced over the years, including:
The product gained some notoriety for its highly sensual advertising. In the UK, the adverts showed people - almost always women - enjoying a Flake whilst relaxing.
The Flake Girl became famous as a symbol of indulgence and secret pleasure. Her emphasis - to a raspingly emotional jingle ("Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before"), voted third most memorable of all time, - was on allowing herself a guilt-free luxury. However, many saw in the delicacy with which she nibbled the crumbly chocolate bar, more than a hint of sexual pleasure. In the 1970s, an advert was taken off air following complaints about the suggestive manner in which the woman bit into the bar.
The Flake song was composed by UK 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 Coco Pops. Ronnie has recently released the album "Songs in the Key of F".
In 1983, UK prog-rock band Twelfth Night included an impromptu song as part of an encore, to the tune of the flake jingle, "Only the crumbliest, flakiest skin, remains on your body after nuclear war...".