KitKat ad says even AI performs better after taking a break

A new KitKat ad has a word of advice for anyone using generative AI: Encourage the model to take a break before tackling your next request. No, really. Doing so could make a significant difference in the output’s accuracy. A 60-second spot from the candy brand explains how a recent study found that instructing an AI machine to take a break produces more accurate responses thereafter. For example, when instructed to “Take a deep breath and work on this [math] problem step by step,” large language models (LLMs) yielded their highest accuracy score of 80.2%, per the study, which was conducted by Google’s AI research lab, DeepMind. “Simply put ‘Have a break, and then’ before your query … then get a more accurate response from your AI,” the ad reads. It’s a fortuitous finding for KitKat, whose “Have a break” tagline opens the door to an obvious marketing opportunity—potentially creating an association between the brand and AI prompting. And as the ad indicates, this upside could apply to any kind of query, from researching literature to requesting tips on building credit. The ad is airing in Canada and was developed with Toronto agency Courage. The campaign comes a year after a separate effort from KitKat in Australia and New Zealand that also used the "Have AI Break” theme. Those short spots, by VMLY&R, were intentionally crude and off-putting to reveal how generative AI is not yet ready to handle a brand’s marketing needs all on its own. That sentiment has been leveraged by everyone from Mint Mobile to freelancers on LinkedIn.

KitKat ad says even AI performs better after taking a break

Featured Stories