JWT Amsterdam have launched a new integrated campaign for Nestle's KitKat chocolate brand, which aims to promote the new KitKat Double Chunky Caramel through “The first-ever nationwide break.” The campaign, which is entitled “Give Holland A Break,” aims to do just that, giving a break not to a single person, but to an entire country. It's all centred around a bespoke Give Holland A Break online platform created by Superhero Cheesecake, with the idea stemming from the brand's famous “Have a break, have a KitKat” slogan, which it has been using globally since 1958. The brand is using the launch of the new Chunky Double Caramel bar, which features two distinct caramel fillings, as an excuse to “Give the whole of Holland a break” from Dutch radio and TV personality “Gordon,” one of the country's most high-profile celebrities (think Ant & Dec, only Dutch), by sending him to a desert island and letting the public decide what becomes of him!
The campaign is centred around a bespoke online platform created by Superhero Cheesecake, with the idea stemming from the brand's “Have a break, have a KitKat” slogan
Gordon, who is a judge on “Holland's Got Talent,” will be cut off from the outside world “Without any means of communication,” and the public will decide how far and for how long he will be sent away via the bespoke website. Visitors to the website will be greeted with an animated seesaw and a virtual KitKat Chunky Double Caramel bar. When they click on the bar of chocolate, Gordon will be flung to an island far away from his native Holland and the more people who click on the site, the further away his eventual desert island location will be and the longer he will have to stay there. JWT have also created an animated online advert explaining the concept of the campaign (below), a 25-second animated TV commercial and a spate of 20-second radio spots to reinforce the “Call-to-action” messaging.
KitKat - “Give Holland A Break”
A spokesperson from KitKat said they intended to “Give people the ultimate break,” and they're “Confident this unique campaign will deliver.” Of course, they underline the tongue-in-cheek nature of the campaign, declaring themselves “Big Gordon fans,” who are all “Really excited that he's agreed to accept this challenge.” Gordon himself said that he was up for the challenge from the get-go. He thinks the idea is hilarious, and he's genuinely “Curious to see where Holland is going to send (him), and more importantly, if they can really make it happen.” He adds that it's a win-win, because it'll at as a break for him too. “A true double-break! Holland is happy, and (he is) too.” Bas Korsten, executive creative director at JWT Amsterdam, believes the idea behind the campaign has global implications. He says the idea has the potential to travel around the world “like Gordon,” because “Every country has its own Gordon.”
On the 26th there will be a farewell party held at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, sending Gordon on his travels, which will also coincide with a complete media blackout on the star
The campaign kicked off in earnest last wednesday (the 15th of October) with the teaser trailer going live and the website went live on Monday (the 20th). The website will be live until Saturday (the 25th), when it will be announced how far Gordon will be travelling and how long he'll be staying there. On the 26th there will be a farewell party held at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, sending Gordon on his travels, which will also coincide with a complete media blackout on the star. There will, however, be a hidden live-stream for those who want to check up on how Gordon is getting on during his self-imposed exile. He will be returning on the 4th of November, with the third phase of the campaign attempted to gauge whether or not his time away from the spotlight changed him in any profound ways. This will be the first KitKat campaign for JWT Amsterdam after their award-winning “Have A Seat” work, so expectations are high to say the least!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He would love to let the UK have a break from Simon Cowell. I'm thinking... Somalia?
