The challenge

Nestlé, wanted to reinvigorate KitKat’s playful brand spirit with a humorous campaign built around the idea of helping people “Snap Out of It”. While the creative platform had been defined, the agency struggled to find the right story to bring the concept to life.

To move beyond the creative impasse, the KitKat Australia team set out to find fresh inspiration that could unlock new campaign directions.

The solution

We launched a global creative ideation challenge, inviting creators from around the world to imagine funny, relatable moments where everyday frustrations escalate dramatically before a KitKat helps someone “snap out of it”.

The response was overwhelming. More than 200 storyboarded ideas were submitted by creators across 43 countries, offering a wide range of original perspectives and unexpected storytelling approaches. One concept, featuring a man attempting to build a medieval catapult with the frustration of assembling flat-pack furniture, stood out as the creative spark the team had been looking for.

The strongest ideas were then reviewed during a collaborative workshop with Nestlé and its creative agency, combining internal expertise with fresh outside-in inspiration to shape the final campaign direction.

The impact

The crowdsourced ideas became the foundation for the agency’s creative brief, ultimately inspiring the award-winning ‘Kätapult’ campaign.

The campaign exceeded its sales and brand equity KPIs in Australia before being adopted by KitKat teams across several European markets and by Hershey in the United States. This demonstrates how a single creative spark can travel across markets.