Nestle is renaming the KitKat bar — temporarily — to celebrate the milestone anniversaries of both the popular candy bar and popular social networking site, YouTube. According to the Canada Journal , Nestle announced that the name change will only be seen on 600,000 candy bars and will mark the first time there was a re-branding (of sorts) of KitKat in over 80 years.
. @KITKAT changes its name to ‘YouTube Break’ on 600,000 candy wrappers: http://t.co/E83yXp9bYd pic.twitter.com/ZnFjbw18Lf
— Adweek (@Adweek) May 14, 2015
With the 10th anniversary of YouTube and the 80th anniversary of the KitKat bar, Nestle felt it was appropriate to do something special. The new name will be “YouTube Break.” The official campaign hashtag will be #mybreak, and different “break” slogans (like “me time break” and “sporty break”) will be featured on about 22 million bars.
“The campaign is based on the consumer insight that KITKAT® consumers are also YouTube fans, and that the video platform is uniquely placed to provide real time insights into the world’s most watched videos.”
The Nestle renaming isn’t the only way these companies have joined forces. According to the New York Daily News , YouTube will also participate in the joint venture. The site has been set up to offer people a “break” when they need it.
“When customers search ‘KitKat YouTube my break’ on their phone they will get a KitKat video followed by the top four trending YouTube videos [of the day].”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the KitKat bar has been around since 1935. It was originally called Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp when it debuted in England. In 1937, it was renamed the Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp.
“The 17th-century organization, which was comprised of politicians and writers, got its name from Christopher Catling. As reported by History, Catling owned the shop where the Kit-Cat Club held their meetings. The Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp brand was purchased by Nestle in 1988. It was later renamed the KitKat bar.”
The Nestle renaming has gotten mixed reactions on social media, but most people don’t seem to care much about the candy’s packaging. As one of the most popular candy bars in the world, the KitKat won’t be changing its ingredients or taste, which is really what most people care about. Even still, the renaming is sort of cool as it does change the candy’s appearance (granted only some bars will see this change) for the first time in several decades.
You will likely see some of these “YouTube Break” bars on sites like eBay. At the current time, only areas in Ireland and the U.K. have seen the package change.
[Photo via YouTube ]
