Cadbury reponds to web Wispas

Congratulations to all our campaigners who petitioned Cadbury for the return of Wispa bars.

Campaigner, Sommer Casey, writes,"Thank you to everyone who  signed this petition. It was announced over the weekend that Cadbury will in fact be bringing back Wispa bars due to internet campaigns being so successful. YUMMMMMMYYYYYY"

The success of the Wispa internet campaigns has been noted by Juliette Garside of the Sunday Telegraph (see below). Her research has revealed that GoPetition was "very influential" in the global campaign process.

Online fans of Wispa have persuaded Cadbury to make the chocolate bar again

When news filtered out, cynics wondered whether some of those clamouring for the return of the 1980s confectionery classic on YouTube and Doyouremember.co.uk had not in fact been members of Cadbury's marketing team in disguise.

Tony Bilsborough, a company spokesman, claims not. Even the storming of Iggy Pop's Glastonbury performance by a member of the audience with a Wispa banner was apparently genuine. It reportedly featured the words "yum yum pig's bum" - not a commonly used marketing phrase.

"Once we knew it was coming back, we promoted it," said Bilsborough. "But we didn't set things up on the internet to bring it back. The incident at Glastonbury wasn't us."

To verify Cadbury's claims, we asked VCCP Search, the online monitoring agency, to create a web map of the petitions, blogs and discussions on the subject. VCCP found that the first mentions dated back to a posting on Funkypancake, a photography website, in October 2003, lamenting Cadbury's decision to axe the sweet a couple of months previously.

Hundreds are typing "Wispa" into search engines each month and there are over 90 Bring Back Wispa groups on Facebook alone, with nearly 14,000 members between them.

The map also shows the size and breadth of the community involved. Half a dozen sites from Gopetition.co.uk to Chocablog.com were very influential, generating large numbers of links and comments, with dozens more involved. YouTube was the hub, with a collection of Wispa ads featuring comics from Hi-de-Hi!, Yes Minister and It Ain't Half Hot Mum posted by those nostalgic for another era.

Paul Mead of VCCP says: "When things are faked you see a steep drop-off after one of two sites - indicating no community or organic growth around the topic."

Bilsborough says 23m bars will go on sale in October, but no more will be produced after that unless internet demand translates into sales. "This is as much a test of the internet as of our chocolate. If the internet really does turn out to be a valid cross section of public opinion we'll bring it back permanently."

The following related petitions are listed at GoPetition: