How it started

The ‘Have a break, have a KitKat’ slogan has been associated with the KitKat brand for several decades. Originating in 1958 as a part of its marketing campaign in the United Kingdom, the slogan quickly became iconic and has been used in various forms in KitKat advertising worldwide.

Today, the teams from Nestlé and its Creative Agency, VML, hypothesized that the generation who needs breaks the most, Gen Z, wasn’t taking them. So, we embarked on a global search to uncover the truth behind breaks and the role they play for today’s young adults.

How we inspired change

We set up a two-step approach:

• First, we launched a 6-day online community with the target consumers in KSA, France, UK, Brazil and India (n=80 in total). Through qualitative exploration, we unearthed a universal and meaningful insight resonating with Nestlé’s Gen Z audience across all markets. This insight served as a foundation for the next global equity campaign, shaping the unique KitKat belief and perspective around breaks.
• Next, we validated key attitudinal learnings from the Gen Z community through a survey involving consumers from the same markets  (n=1,500 in total). Utilising a series of attitudinal statements with binary agreement and all to be timed-response questions, we ensured comprehensive validation of our findings and global alignment around the findings.

How it lives on

Our research revealed that while most people believe they take enough breaks, only 34% actually enjoy high-quality breaks. Many admit their breaks are often interrupted by distractions – whether it’s a packed schedule, multitasking, or just struggling to fully switch off.

This universal human truth among Gen Z adults inspired KitKat’s creative agency, VML, to develop a new global campaign titled “Break Better.” The new advertising, set to Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”, features a young office worker overwhelmed by his tasks, who manages to switch while enjoying a KitKat during his break.