Cadbury Wispa Gold: Social Marketing Win

(MoneyWatch)  Internet fans have spoken. They want Cadbury to bring back its Wispa Gold chocolate bar in the UK. And Cadbury has answered: shucks, all right.

After more than 22,000 fans joined the Facebook group "Bring Back Cadbury's Wispa Gold" -- supposedly on their own, with no prodding from the company -- Cadbury decided to offer the caramel-filled chocolate bar again for a temporary period as a "limited edition." Cadbury even invited three fans from the group to come to the factory and press the button to start production.

This is the second time Cadbury has caved to the demands of eager online fans -- an enviable position for any company. The first time around, two years ago, the pressure was over the original Wispa bar. Facebook alone had more than 90 "Bring Back Wispa" groups, and at an Iggy Pop concert in Glastonbury, England, fans jumped onstage with a "Bring back the Wispa" banner.

There was some speculation at the time that Cadbury was secretly behind the campaign, but the company denied it, and the fact that the banner also reportedly said "yum yum pig's bum" makes me inclined to believe Cadbury was telling the truth.

As does the fact that 41 million Wispa bars sold within the first 18 weeks of being relaunched "temporarily" -- a response that inspired Cadbury to bring the product back permanently.

Wispa Gold is also coming back for a "limited period," but my guess is, if it sells well, it might stick around a bit longer.