Cadbury now has a sonic logo – and it's kinda perfect

Why rely on visual marketing when you could play with sound as well? That's the feeling behind the new sonic logo composed for Cadbury by a prominent film score composer, which aims to sum up the chocolate company's brand in just a few notes. 

Produced by specialist sonic logo branding agency DLMDD, the short sound accompanies the well-known visual logo to create a multi-sensory experience. Given the last year has seen a 22 per cent uptake in sonic logos, sound is clearly the next big thing in marketing – and Cadbury has leaped on the trend. Listen to the sonic logo below, and we'll go and update our pick of the best audio logos now.

Composer Guy Farley wrote the score for the sonic logo on a Steinway piano from 1895, immediately adding the sense of history and gravitas necessary for such a historic brand. The sound is already in place in TV adverts, including Garage and Give A Doubt (see that one below). Watch to the end and you'll hear the three notes underpinning a voice speaking "There's A Glass And A Half In Everyone" (Cadbury's tagline).

There's no doubt that Cadbury's branding is some of the best-known out there, with the signature-style looped wordmark (based on the signature of founder William Cadbury) and the distinctive purple (Pantone 2685C, in case you were wondering) packing a chocolate-y punch right off the bat. And this auditory addition only serves to strengthen it more. 

For a brand with such a familiar logo, any decision to refresh or redesign is a tricky balancing act (which may be why the visual redesign was so slight in 2020) so the addition of a sonic logo is an inspired, and logical act. When you can't change the bones of a design, you need to grab attention another way and using another sense is ideal (perhaps the next step forward could be a logo that tastes of chocolate?). 

Looking for more logo inspiration? Check out our list of the best three-letter logos.