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KitKat Phone Break - Crowd...
KitKat Phone Break - Street...
KitKat Phone Break - Public Transport...
Entrant Company
VML Czechia
Entry Type
Product/Service
Program
Clio Awards 2026
Medium Type
Professional
Medium
Out of Home
Category
Poster
For over 65 years, "Have a Break, Have a KitKat" has been woven into pop culture. But for Gen Z, the very idea of a break has changed. Their downtime is dominated by screens, constantly interrupted by notifications, scrolling, and the pull of the device that promised escape.
KitKat's Phone Break campaign gently reflected this reality back. With no logo, no headline, and no call to action, we recreated familiar public moments - commuters waiting, friends sitting together but looking at screens - and swapped the phones with KitKats. The posters were placed in the exact locations where this behaviour unfolds daily: tram stops, plazas, public walkways.
The result was quietly powerful. People scrolling unknowingly stood in the same pose as the posters beside them. The humour came not from exaggeration, but recognition. And because KitKat's tagline is so deeply ingrained, the product alone delivered the message: maybe it's time for a real break.
The campaign earned widespread praise and coverage across global industry outlets (Muse by Clio, Adweek, Campaign Brief, LBB) reaching over 2.63 million online. Shared organically by creative leaders, it was called "a masterclass in marketing" and "the best example of the power of a 65-year-old tagline in action." Without a cent spent on digital media, it proved that a timeless message, smartly executed, can still earn attention, relevance, and connection.