KitKat’s challenge was to introduce itself into more usage occasions, while building brand equity. While traditional media like TV, OOH, and in-store marketing was KitKat’s bread and butter, the brand also wanted to stay relevant to an increasingly online demographic. The main metric would be in brand recognition, with a secondary metric of purchase intent.

So how would KitKat insert themselves into online occasions while not seeming like an imposter?

At this time, Chat GPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft CoPilot were growing in popularity. Consumers were turning to the AI language model tools to learn, ask questions, and even check their work.

The intersection point? A revolutionary study from Google Deepmind. The study outlined how prompting chat bots to “take a breather” could effectively increase the accuracy of the answers. The similarities between the prompts and KitKat’s tagline, “Have A Break” became the catalyst of the campaign.

Hacking AI platforms to be more accurate by prompting them to “Have A Break” before posing a question.

Grounded in credible Google DeepMind research, we gave the world a new way to optimize large language model AI platforms with the help of our iconic tagline.

KitKat AI cleverly harnessed data by exploring the effects of language prompts on AI performance. The campaign targeted tech-savvy consumers and thought leaders in artificial intelligence, appealing to those who value innovative technology applications.

The approach seamlessly merged KitKat's iconic tagline, "Have a Break," with AI functionality to show how even AI can benefit from taking a 'break.'

The call to action encouraged people to try out the AI with KitKat’s tagline for more accurate results. By integrating 'Have a Break' into the AI prompts, KitKat was able to use AI not just as a tool for tasks but also as an engaging medium to interact with its audience.

KitKat set out to prove that popular AI language models like ChatGPT, Google Gemeni (previously Google Bard), and Microsoft CoPilot could be improved with the right prompt. In this case the prompt was KitKat’s iconic tagline, “Have A Break”. We then gathered results from popular AI platforms, finding that leading questions with the prompt “Have A Break” did indeed give users improved results (improving accuracy all the way up to 100%). The next step was to promote the idea with an online video.

The Organic video was designed to educate the digital world about KitKat’s AI prompting discovery. The highly shareable video, live on KitKat Canada and KitKat Global channels, used animation, sounds, and design inspired by popular AI Chat bots.

Although it was completely inspired by AI, the video leaned heavily into the unmistakable KitKat brand icons. The famous KitKat red became the backdrop for KitKat-styled typography as well as the KitKat chocolate bar, which made appearances throughout.

While other brands might use AI merely as a buzzword or focus on being the first to use this technology, KitKat integrated AI into its core message about the importance of taking breaks.

The results were impressive with Have AI Break becoming one of the most shared videos in the AI community and culture at large. The campaign had everyone, from some of the most influential voices in the tech and AI community, like Allie K. Miller, to university professors and Google employees typing KitKat’s famous tagline over and over again – using “have a break” to answer their questions. The campaign generated over 80 million organic impressions and delivered +280% Media ROI, surpassing all industry benchmarks.

The campaign timeline started as soon as the Google DeepMind study was published and continued all the way to when the video was released months later.

The results were impressive with Have AI Break becoming one of the most shared videos in the AI community and culture at large. The campaign had everyone, from some of the most influential voices in the tech and AI community, like Allie K. Miller, to university professors and Google employees typing KitKat’s famous tagline over and over again – using “have a break” to answer their questions. The campaign generated over 80 million organic impressions and delivered +280% Media ROI, surpassing all industry benchmarks.