Right now, AI is a force poised to change how humans interact with technology and is ever present in our consciousness. In this context, KitKat found a groundbreaking way to hack AI language model prompt functions, effectively inventing a new form of media advertising.

In a business where merely getting people to pay attention can be tough, KitKat managed to get consumers to use a decades-old tagline to interact with the most cutting-edge media innovation of our times.

Today, AI is tasked with doing just about everything, from generating heartfelt letters to returning thoroughly detailed research results. And, as it turns out those results could be enhanced with the right prompting. A recent Google DeepMind study on large language model AIs, detailed how prompting “take a breather” before any request improves the accuracy of the response. Which had us and KitKat thinking, would it work with the world’s most iconic tagline?

The results were pretty sweet: Asking the AI to “Have A Break, and then…” led to detailed, more accurate responses when compared to the same question without the additional instruction.

Our collected improved responses were discovered while using iterations of Google Bard and Chat GPT from the months October 2023 - January 2024. The same timeframe as when the study was published.

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. Thus turning every AI language model prompt bar into a new form of media.

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 – in a place where our target was naturally spending their time.

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, turning the AI prompt bar into a new media medium.

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.

We gathered results from popular AI media 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 platforms.

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.

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.

Language based AI platforms are a new fertile ground for marketers. Like the birth of search engines (Google, Bing, Ask), AI platforms provide new possibilities for brands to engage with the world in unique ways. Our campaign, inspired by a Google Deepmind study, demonstrated how typing KitKat’s tagline “Have A Break” into the chat bar, optimized the responses received from popular AI platforms. We hacked a new form of media, and transformed it into an engaging place to market to our target demographic.