Brexit was a huge debate in the UK, yet it didn’t have an icon.

So we created an iconic symbol of Brexit for The Guardian. An icon that delivered on their brand positioning of ‘playful intelligence’. We created Brexit’s Crackers.

And this wasn’t just a visual for an ad campaign – we produced 1,000 boxes of Brexit’s Crackers for Guardian readers to win.

Each box of Brexit’s Crackers contained six Christmas crackers, each with a different Brexit-themed joke and prize inside.

The prizes included; a ‘yo-yoing’ pound coin, an empty book of Theresa May’s Brexit Plans, a miniature EU jigsaw with a UK piece that didn’t fit, and many more.

The crackers were supported by a digital, press and outdoor campaign, all featuring the iconic visual. Guardian readers could win the crackers by entering a competition on The Guardian website.

We set out to create an iconic symbol of a turning point in British history. And we certainly achieved it. The Victoria & Albert Museum requested a box of Brexit’s Crackers to add to their collection – as an artifact of ‘cultural and historical significance’. This was no mean feat, as the last item the V&A requested from The Guardian was Edward Snowden’s personal laptop.

Coverage of Brexit’s Crackers spread like wildfire online. We also doubled the Guardian’s normal ad CTRs, and delivered 4,707 competition entries. To put that into perspective, that’s one entrant for every 200 Guardian readers, or one entrant for every 11 online ad impressions.