Everything, no matter how renowned or robust, could use a breather every now and then.
Just in time for a Halloween season that’s shaping up to be unlike anything from past years, Nestlé’s Kit Kat has debuted a global campaign asking members of the public to come up with a temporary alternative to the brand’s well-known slogan, “Have a break, have a Kit Kat.”
The digital marketing effort, created by Wunderman Thompson to celebrate Kit Kat’s 85th anniversary, begins today and runs until Oct. 26 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #ABreakForHaveABreak. The chocolate-covered wafer brand will also reach out to its Nestlé siblings as well as rival CPG marketers via social media to encourage them to suggest some of their own creative taglines.
To assist fans with their brainstorming sessions, Wunderman Thompson also created an online slogan generator.
The “Have a break” Kit Kat line was written by Donald Gilles, a J. Walter Thompson copywriter, back in 1957. The brand has mainly stuck with some version of it ever since. (In late 2018, JWT merged with digital agency Wunderman to form Wunderman Thompson.)
“Countries have tried adapting the line and/or changing it, but only for short time periods,” said a spokesperson from Wunderman Thompson. “It remains one of the longest-running end lines in the world.”
Whoever comes up with the best new tagline will receive an all-expenses-paid, 85-hour luxury hotel stay for two. Jeremy Bullmore, former chairman of J. Walter Thompson who was a creative at the ad agency when it coined the phrase, will help pick the competition’s winner.
Wunderman Thompson confirmed that Kit Kat isn’t pausing its advertising or going on a marketing hiatus during the contest. “It’s just a fun campaign,” said the spokesperson.
Inviting the internet to openly comment on a brand comes with risk. Asked about the potential for bad actors to ruin the contest or try to harm Kit Kat’s reputation, Wunderman Thompson said it would monitor the engagement and enforce damage control if necessary.
“We believe that the majority of people will just have fun with the slogan and play around rather than trying to make it something bad,” said the spokesperson.
Introduced in 1935 as Chocolate Crisp, Kit Kat is now available in more than 80 countries, according to Nestlé.
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https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/kit-kat-takes-a-break-from-have-a-break-slogan/