Dive Brief:

• Kit Kat is introducing a quartet called the Break Brothers for its first character-driven standalone brand campaign, according to a press release.  
• The besuited, bouncer-like group, outfitted to mirror the four fingers of chocolate-coated wafer that make up a Kit Kat bar, ensure people are able to take a break in a world where unwinding feels increasingly difficult, including due to taxing work environments.  
• The first TV spot debuted Monday around the NCAA Men’s Championship Game while videos are also running across social channels including Instagram and TikTok. Kit Kat joins other confectionery marketers in nodding to larger societal stressors while positioning snacks as a solution.   

Dive Insight:

Kit Kat continues to lean into its positioning around providing consumers a “break” — both in terms of time to unwind and snap apart its candy bars — this time aided by a group of stone-faced enforcers dedicated to ensuring these reprieves go uninterrupted. 

In the first spot for the campaign, “Office,” an employee, Thomas, is settling into the break room to eat a Kit Kat when a coworker approaches him to discuss email fonts for a document. Snapping off a piece of the Kit Kat magically summons the towering Break Brothers, who intimidate the coworker into leaving Thomas alone for some peace and quiet. Ad agency Orchard Creative is behind the effort that seeks to evolve the “break” positioning Hershey-owned Kit Kat has employed in its advertising since the 1950s.

Centering the campaign on brand characters — a first for Kit Kat — was partially driven by the need to have the concept translate beyond TV spots into other mediums, Orchard’s Senior Art Director Kevin Igunbor and Senior Copywriter Patrick Wells said in prepared comments around the announcement. The idea is for the Break Brothers to stick around for years to come. “Break Brothers” otherwise features signature Kit Kat brand assets, such as its older tagline and color scheme. Out-of-home, digital display and connected TV buys factor into the campaign’s media plan.

While Kit Kat’s latest marketing ploy is lighthearted, it addresses serious pressures, such as longer work hours, multitasking and burnout. Shoddily implemented return-to-office policies could give “Break Brothers” some additional resonance for U.S. consumers. The ads also arrive as the economy teeters on the brink of a recession due to a mounting trade war.

Other candy brands have recently tried to put a humorous spin on heavy issues. Mars-owned Twix last month shifted away from ads that played up the left-right divide of its twinned chocolate bars (which are actually the same in terms of taste and ingredients). The global “Two is more than one” campaign, which carries a $70 million media investment, instead focuses on unity, an approach Mars believes will resonate more with young consumers who are sick of polarization and interested in living life to the fullest.