Would you break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar?
Kit Kat might have one of the most famous and most beloved jingles in candy history. It’s been put on mugs, t-shirts, stickers, car decals, and even gotten the remix treatment from music stars like Chance the Rapper, Carrie Underwood, and Shawn Colvin, among many others. The candy itself enjoys global popularity, particularly in Japan, where it can be found in a variety of unusual flavors like pear, edamame, chili, strawberry cheesecake, green tea, and wasabi. (It’s all true!) Even that red and white wrapper is iconic, a design rarely tampered within the brand’s nearly 100 years of history.
As you might imagine, Kit Kat marketing has varied a lot over that long and chocolatey century. Parent company Nestlé bought out original owner Rowntree back in the 80s, and the modern incarnation of the Kit Kat as we know it today was born. That includes the beloved jingle mentioned above, which was actually developed only just before Rowntree’s acquisition. For nearly 30 years the Gimme A Break jingle has been the focus of Kit Kat’s advertising, and rightly so. Actual academic studies have named the tune one of the top ten earworms ever created! (And now you have it stuck in your head, too.)
So when your kids are running from house to house this Halloween trying to find the one family that gives out the full-size candy bars, you can thank, at least in part, the marketing geniuses at Nestlé for their zeal in trying to find the elusive full-size Kit Kat they can really sink their teeth into. And if maybe you’re feeling tempted to buy a bag of fun-size Kit Kats all for yourself, well … who could blame you?
Chance The (W)rapper
This somewhat tongue-in-cheek campaign from Halloween 2016 features the titular Chance the Rapper strolling through a convenience store when a candy bar with his face on it calls his name and sings the jingle at him. Of course, this is Chance the Rapper’s version of the jingle, and it’s actually pretty good. Give it a listen and see how you feel about this sweet, down-tempo, jazzy take on the traditional tune, as well as the somewhat odd commercial it appears in.
Gimme A Break
Enjoy this 90s-as-the-90s-ever-get commercial and prepare for the dismay you’ll feel when you realize it’s nearly 30 years old. This oldie but goodie helped start it all, and some say you can’t beat the classics.
But what do you think? Do you prefer the updated 2016 take, or the glorious original version from 1990? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Have a happy, spooky Halloween from all of us here at Wpromote!