There’s fight in every bite of Tony’s Chocolonely

Common People Studio has produced Tony’s Chocolonely’s first ever TV commercial after the brand received £500k from Sky Media UK and their Zero Footprint Fund.

Directed by comedy guru Mary-Sue Masson, the film tackles the hard-hitting topic of cocoa exploitation in an unexpectedly light-hearted and entertaining way. The film was part of a fully integrated 360° campaign titled There’s Fight in Every Bite by award-winning independent creative agency House of Oddities.

The 30 second spot sees two women enjoying a casual night in sharing a bar of Tony's Chocolonely's signature milk chocolate. As they take a bite we see two big-haired 90's style wrestlers, named Tony’s and X-Ploitation, battling it out in their living room. The wrestler X-Ploitation acts as a physical representation of the cocoa industry’s darker side when cocoa farmers aren’t paid enough to earn a living income, with the three biggest issues facing the industry being poverty, child labour, and deforestation. This is what Tony is fighting against, both in the wrestling ring and in the real world.

Masson commented: “I love Tony’s Chocolonely. Who doesn’t? So when House of Oddities sent us their gloriously unhinged script for the brand’s first TV spot, it was a hard yes. The more I learned about Tony’s mission - to stop exploitation and deforestation in the cocoa industry, the more determined we were to make something that punched above its weight. We didn’t have a ‘Big Choc’ Budget (on account of Tony’s not creaming huge profits from the labours of small Cocoa farmers… don’t get me started) But! we had a can-do approach with the team at Common People.

Casting was everything. Rather than a standard call-out, we went straight to people we knew could bring it. The Funny as F…Farrel Hegarty, currently breaking the internet, and the brilliant Verona Rose both brought comic energy. Authenticity mattered in the ring. We cast real wrestlers as our hero ‘Tony’ (Tommy Tanner) and his nemesis ‘X-Ploitation’ (Bullit). At the fitting we discovered Bullit was actually Tommy’s wrestling coach, which meant no choreographer required. Rehearsals were… robust! Visually, I worked closely with DP Matthew J Smith to move from magic-hour warmth into full wrestling ring drama, pulling a bold palette straight from Tony’s distinctive branding (Huge shout out to HMU & costume dept).

This was a great team effort, with Common People and House of Oddities, and a client who trusted me through the process. We have a cracker of a tv spot for them which is already making ad of the day five stars and more. There are few brands more deserving of the spotlight. Proud to help tell their story… with spandex”.