Taking A Break

”HAVE a break, have a KitKat.’ Advice a lot of us would give to President Bush, who hopefully could be looking at an enforced holiday come next year.

One small step for a man, one giant leap for a President

But it’s advice that manufacturers Nestle Rowntree are withdrawing after 47 years, after sales in what used to be Britain’s top-selling confectionery slumped.

Instead, customers are to be urged to ‘Make the most of your break’ – a marketing makeover to be backed by a £5m television advertising campaign.

The company says the change is a response to shifting work patterns rather than falling sales.

‘The new slogan is acknowledging that a break is less formalised,’ a company spokesman tells the Independent, ‘but, even if it is for five minutes, you can maximise your enjoyment with a KitKat.’

Marketers were split over whether the new slogan would make any difference to flagging sales.

One said that we already eat far too much chocolate – about eight kilos a year per person – and all medical advice was to reduce that amount.

Another said that the old slogan was over-recognised and doing something a bit different was a smart move.

As it is, 47 KitKats are still consumed every second and it has remained one of the country’s favourite sweets since it was endorsed by President Bush’s hero, Winston Churchill, as a cheap and healthy form of nourishment during the war.

Reason enough, you would think, for Dubya to stick one in his mouth and see whether he has any more success with that than he had with the pretzel.’

Posted: 3rd, August 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink