The Marketing Muster: Issue 12  23 February 2021

This relatable KitKat ad is a masterclass in simplicity

When I saw this fabulous bus shelter ad for Kit Kat in my Twitter feed last week, I thought to myself, 'That's a great ad!'

But what I didn't know then is that it's not an actual ad.

It's a mock-up created by clever creative strategist Sam Hennig as his entry to a One Minute Briefs call out.

As this AdWeek article says, 'to be effective, advertising needs to get to the essence of something its audience knows to be true.'

And this ad delivers in spades.

Why I love it:

• The ad plays on the well-known brand tagline 'Have a break. Have a KitKat'
• The tagline recognition makes the message of the ad instantly clear
• Making the surrounding meetings 'Zoom calls' brings us into the now and makes the ad even more relatable to its audience
• It cleverly connects to the audience's stress of working from home

While Hennig's ad is a masterclass in simplicity, he says it wasn't the original iteration. As you'll read, he initially came up with a similar concept using a square of Cadbury chocolate. It was feedback from freelance creative director Nicholas Tasker that prompted Hennig to make it about KitKat.

KitKat themselves got wind of Sam's One Minute Briefs entry and shared it on their socials.

And other brands jumped on the bandwagon.

As yet, there's no word as to whether the Nestle brand will pay to use the ad in the real world. But thanks to Sam and Nicholas, KitKat certainly got a big boost of brand recognition in marketing and advertising circles last week.

For more on this story, read Sam's own words about what he learned from making THAT viral KitKAt ad.

If you know a business, brand or campaign you think deserves a standing ovation, email me to tell me more.

adweek.com