It’s tax time in the US. The IRS is currently reviewing tax deduction claims – some of which probably have the potential to turn the tax office water cooler chat into a comedy skit series.

BBDO New York went one better. It turned a Snickers tax deduction claim into a documentary with a ridiculous ending. It’s the story of a woman who claimed a Snickers bar as a deduction because it had given her the energy to keep working late. (You’re not you when you’re hungry: your brain starts to shut down.) The claim triggered a tax audit and the eventual rejection of her deduction – for 89 cents.

The fun part is that the story walks the line of plausibility like a tightrope walker. Ok, the neuroscientist’s testimony is out-and-out humour. The ridiculous ending? Ten years later, Snickers arrives at her door with a massive cheque for the tiny amount (89c), to “make things right”.

The Snickers Write-off is running on YouTube, and was supported on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr from until Tax Day (April 15).

Creative credits:

Agency: BBDO New York

Chief creative officer, BBDO Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief creative officer, BBDO New York: Greg Hahn
Executive creative directors: Gianfranco Arena & Peter Kain
Creative director: Peter Alsant
Associate creative director: Matthew Zaifert

Director of integrated production: David Rolfe
Group executive producer: Amy Wertheimer
Producer: Mona Lisa Farrokhnia

Director: Evan Bernard
Director of Photography: Joseph DeSalvo