Ferrero Rocher is a spherical chocolate sweet made by Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA. Introduced in 1982, the chocolates consist of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut cream and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.[1] The sweets each contain 73 calories, and are individually packaged inside a gold-coloured wrapper. Rocher comes from French and means "rock".[2]
Contents |
A range of Ferrero chocolates benefit from the advertising of the Rocher type. These different chocolates are sold separately, and also as boxed collections of mixed types.
The Rocher always bears a golden coloured wrapper, the Rondnoir a dark brown wrapper, and the Garden a silver wrapper with an illustration of the flavour under the name tag—for example, a strawberry, or a coconut. An exception is the Pistachio-flavoured one, which comes in a metallic Pistachio green wrapper.
In most English-speaking countries, Ferrero have concentrated on advertising the Rocher chocolate, and allowed the associated recognition of their company brand name to sell other Ferrero chocolate types. In the United Kingdom the 1990s advertisement series based upon a party in a European ambassador's official residence has been repeatedly parodied in popular culture (see references in the section below) and taken on a reputation for having limited artistic value.[5] Nonetheless, the extent of popular reproduction and mimicking must suggest a high degree of success in strict advertising terms. The opening voice-over (voiced by UK actor Jonathan Kydd), "The Ambassador's receptions are noted in society for their host's exquisite taste that captivates his guests", together with the on-screen comments of guests such as "Eccellente" and "Ambassador, with these Rocher, you're really spoiling us", remain widely recognised and quoted in the United Kingdom. The concept of a butler wandering between party guests holding a silver tray with a pyramid of Ferrero Rocher has become a trope and a popular stereotype of diplomacy in general. There has been discussion about the socio-economic targeting of the advertisement, and the extent to which it may or may not be insulting to the more down-market audience to whom it was presented as an aspirational brand by means of an Italian advertisement dubbed in English, such as this quote from the New Statesman: "Within this inner sanctum of the smart set, a distinguished manservant glided silently through the moneyed throng, with a pyramid of golden baubles, perched on a silver salver, offering a huge piled plate of the sweets to the guests at an embassy party."[6]
The product has been the sponsor for Desperate Housewives in the UK, since October 2008. It has since been replaced by Special K.
Montresor (Zhangjiagang) Food has been accused of making copycat brand called Ferraro Rocher in China and exporting them overseas. In 2006 a court in China ruled in the Ferrero Rocher's favour and sought Montresor to stop making their version of Tresor Dore.[7][8] In spite of this ruling, the copycats are still available.
|
|||||
