Cadbury faces backlash for new chocolate bar meant to promote diversity: 'Congratulations to Cadbury for solving racism'

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: In this photograph illustration a bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate are seen on January 19, 2010 in Bristol, England. The US food giant Kraft has today agreed a takeover of Dairy Milk maker Cadbury in a deal worth 11 billion GBP, however many Cadbury workers remained concerned over the longterm future of their jobs. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate are seen on January 19, 2010 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Cadbury U.K., along with the advertising agency Ogilvy, launched a limited-edition chocolate bar called the Unity Bar on August 15 to celebrate India's Independence Day. The bar features four types of chocolate – dark, blended, milk and white – and was meant to symbolize India standing "united in its diversity." However, some social media users think the confection missed the mark.

In 1947, India gained independence from the United Kingdom, and Cadbury launched the new bar to help commemorate the 72nd anniversary.

"India is a diverse country, with people of different castes, creed, languages, regions, religions. Everyone living together, but not always with love," Ogilvy, the global advertising agency, shared on their website. "Cadbury Dairy Milk, which is loved by everyone, wanted to send a powerful message of unity. So we worked with the brand to create the Unity Bar: India’s first chocolate made of dark, blended, milk and white chocolate—all united in one bar."

The limited-edition chocolate bar was shared on Cadbury's social media and in one of India's major newspapers, The Economic Times.

The ad drew praise for its inclusivity; despite Hindi being the most common language typically used by brands in the country that has 22 official languages, the front-page ad used different languages in different areas for their headline, which read "Sweet things happen when we unite."

However, the ad uses a Kannada headline in the Mumbai edition, a Telugu headline in the Delhi edition, and a Marathi headline in the Bengaluru edition⁠—not the official languages of these areas ⁠—which lead some to believe that the chocolate bar missed its mark.

Still, many were less than convinced that a candy bar could end racism.

Others, however, have come to the defense of Cadbury, and acknowledge that the chocolate bar was not meant to end racism in the world entirely or erase the transgenerational trauma of India’s caste system.

While the message may not have inspired some, it has united others on their distaste for white chocolate.

Representatives for Mondelez, which owns Cadbury U.K., did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.