The JWT/Paris campaign for Nestlé’s Kit Kat, which will eventually send two lucky contest winners on a trip to outer space, began with an animated 3D viral video ad that suggests the ultimate prize after a frazzled employee eats a Kit Kat bar and rides an elevator to the top of his building, which provides an inspirational glimpse to the edge of the universe.
Ultimate Break Quest, the two minute fifty second video playing at www.kitkat.fr, YouTube and Daily Motion, which was produced by Akama Studio/Paris, repped by Wanda Productions/Paris, is the backbone of a campaign that introduces a new version of the familiar candy bar. “2008 may be the year of many things, one of them being the release of a new Nestlé’s Kit Kat bar,” said Stéphane Billard, the associate director at JWT/Paris. “It’s the first change of recipe since it was introduced in 1972.”
The agency introduces the new candy bar by focusing on the concept of a break. “Everyone has in mind a personal break, so we let them think about the ultimate break,” Billard said. “The spot is an invitation for them to take a break.”
The main character in the video, a young man hard at work at his desk, staring into his overwrought computer, decides to take a break. He walks down a hallway, past an array of interesting co-workers, from a pair of idealistic twins to a blonde bombshell who bends over as he walks by, until he reaches a Kit Kat vending machine. His eyes light up after he takes a bite and suddenly he is on an elevator riding to the top, where he is blinded by the light as the doors open. He smiles idealistically as the spot concludes.
The humor comes from the bizarre characters, the office worker having an oversized head and bulging eyes, who proceeds through the office with a forlorn look. “The hero should be fragile, stressed, but friendly,” said Alexandre Ada, Akama Studio’s art director. “Big eyes deliver more emotions.”
“All the animation was hand made, we didn’t use motion capture because we wanted to design a very specific style for the film and give more character to the acting,” he said. The hand drawn animations were rendered into film using Maya, Max, After Effects and Zbrush.
The film is the first phase of a campaign that will also run on TV with a shorter version and radio. Visitors to the site are invited to produce their own ultimate break videos. The producer of the best one, as well as the winner of an instant game on Kit Kat packaging, will win a trip to outer space, which will be provided by Rocketplane, an American company that flies an aerospace vehicle into space that reaches an altitude of 330,000 feet (60 miles).
The film began playing online Jan. 24. The TV campaign launches Feb. 15.
There seems to be two messages to the Ultimate Break Quest campaign. “Everyone can recognize the main character, we all know that kind of job is stressful and we know he needs a break, so we empathize with him,” Billard said. The second message is the idea of space travel, which the character’s journey provides. “The ultimate break links with space travel, it’s a good way of capturing people,” he said.
FCB Stays Atop The One Club’s Year-End Global Creative Rankings
FCB ended the year repeating its top positions in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, with FCB New York again crowned Global Agency of the Year and FCB Global finishing as Agency Network of the Year for 2024.
The annual worldwide benchmark report is a comprehensive ranking of agencies, brands, countries, and individuals based on points earned from winning entries in The One Club’s eight global, regional, and local awards shows: The One Show 2024, ADC 103rd Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC70 competition, Art Directors Club of Europe ADCE Awards 2024, ONE Asia Creative Awards 2024, and The One Club Denver, San Diego, and Miami chapter 2024 awards programs.
“The Global Creative Rankings is the industry’s most comprehensive and transparent ranking,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “There are no secret weightings in calculating the rankings, and unlike others, it’s not hidden behind a paywall. As the industry’s foremost nonprofit organization for the global creative community, The One Club is in a unique position to provide this free, definitive measure for global creative excellence to everyone in the industry.”
Highlights of the Global Creative Rankings 2024 are below.
Global Agency Rankings
FCB New York
Rethink Toronto
McCann New York
TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
FCB Chicago
Marcel Paris
VML New York
Ogilvy PR New York, Publicis Conseil Paris (tie)
Independent Agency Rankings
Rethink Toronto
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Wieden+Kennedy Portland
Brand-Side Agency... Read More