A genius idea that came from a very sharp insight as well as the brand’s monumental flair for witty tactical campaigns. VML Philippines and KitKat solved a challenge faced by many small businesses in Metro Manila operating with limited staff – and put KitKat-take a break in front of thousands of Filipinos, all with next to no media spend. Here’s how. Resourceful small Filipino businesses use everyday objects as makeshift door barricades when needing a short break. So VML Philippines’ ingeniously reimagined KitKat as a purpose-built break-time signal. The agency designed special KitKat Break Bars that could be slid between door handles, serving as a quirky, whimsical, and very effective, way to send the message that the shop employees were taking a break.

Paul Nagy, VML CCO Asia Pacific, took The Stable behind the work…and the idea’s wonderfully human birth story.

The Stable: Where did the insight/idea come from? Is there a personal story? 

Paul Nagy: Well it all started with joke to be honest. My amazing team in the Philippines were working on a KitKat comms brief for a coming holiday weekend, when they noticed the familiar sight of shops around town beginning their routine of inserting these little makeshift barricades on their doors for the extended break. One of them chuckled, “Wouldn’t it be funny if they did that with big ass KitKat bar instead.”

One laughed. They all laughed. Then someone said, “Hey, wait a minute…”

Nestlé Philippines has consistently proved to be very open to brave work, and was hungry for more culture-driven activity. Approval was instant and the rest is history.

The Stable: How did you make and distribute the bars? Did social media play a role in the campaign? 

Paul Nagy: The bars needed to be sturdy enough to actually function as a barricade on the door. We commissioned a woodworking factory, who made the bars using multiple slabs. The iconic logo was laser cut into the top layer before a glaze finish was added.

We selected small and medium enterprises in key, high-traffic areas of the city, particularly those who already engaged in this practice, and offered to replace their makeshift barricades with something cooler. Almost everyone approached was excited to join, with some even requesting additional barricades for their other branches!

Social media and influencers helped get the word out and the establishments who partnered with us also shared it on their own social media pages.

The Stable: KitKat is an international brand. How important do you think local/cultural understanding is for brands?

Paul Nagy: I think it’s vital now, and will only become more valuable as this new AI world opens up in front of us. I personally love AI and believe it’s going to be a truly magical tool that will completely democratise creativity for anyone with an imagination. The flipside of this, will be that everything will start to look amazing – and when everything looks amazing, nothing does.

That’s when three things will start to become immensely valuable: the ability to come up with a unique idea, the ability to be authentic, and the ability to take advantage of deep human insights – particularly local insights. In my opinion, these ingredients will become the magic dust that every successful international brand will be chasing, and they’ll need human beings like my immensely talented team in the Philippines to consistently get them.

The Stable: “Cinematic” TVC. Carpe diem quickie. Epic stunt. Social media experiment. Brand solving a cause…plenty of choices. What do you think are the essential ingredients of campaigns that work and what do you think is the power of KitKat Break Bar?

Paul Nagy: One thing that really stuck out to me at the awards this year was the massive advantage global brands with an established platform have against their competitors, with KitKat being one of the most powerful examples. The consumer engages with the Have a break, have a KitKat platform like they’re picking up a well-thumbed old novel and just reading the latest chapter. In this cluttered, no-time-for-anything world of constant distractions, it’s the kind of frictionless engagement that is priceless in marketing.

Which makes me shake my head when brands keep chopping and changing what they stand for… there’s a lot of truth to the idea that we get sick of brand platforms far faster than consumers do.

So, standing for something over a long period of time is a huge head start, but if you don’t have that, then the three things I mentioned above are the key ingredients for success, and Break Bar has perfectly cooked them all.