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I was laughing at this parody. Then, I found myself wanting a KitKat.

Perhaps there's something to this presentation style after all!



When it comes to a chunk of sugar as delicious as a KitKat, all they really need to do is plant the word "KitKat" in your brain and you'll want one. Or maybe it's just me.


I find the thought of dead babies in Africa tends to put me off my confectionary.


You got an upvote from me simply for knowing about it but perhaps you want to provide more references to Nestles baby formula history etc

Start here : http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestlé_boycott


For what it's worth, KitKats in the US are made by Hersheys (admittedly which have their own moral issues, i.e. the 'intern' business).


Irrespective of boycotts, please please buy chocolate products that have independent certification from a third party (UTZ Certified, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance).

Certification isn't perfect, and different labels focus on different things (though most cover child labor, environment, fair working conditions), but they give a signal to the corporations that you are expecting more than just sugar at the lowest price. Some Nestle products in some markets have third-party certification. If you want to buy Nestle, buy those.


Doesn't matter in the US. As Kitkat sold in the US is made by Hershey. http://www.hersheys.com/kitkat.aspx


Which presumably means it's covered with the same disgusting fake chocolate that the rest of Hershey products are made with, which means it's not really a KitKat...


Everyone outside the US says that, and I agree that nice European chocolate is notably different than Hershey's chocolate, but I've had both American and European KitKats and they taste identical.


...licensing the KitKat brand from Nestle. Moral quandary remains.


Nope, not doing it for me.


yup, but they still have to have some method to plant the word KitKat into your brain.


You'd be better off with an Apple...


Man, apple is such a closed system. People aren't allowed to mod it at all without breaking through the layers of obfuscation and bollocks. Further more, kitkat is basically open source with how it gives you the tech specs and all those sweet diagrams.

If you want a closed system that accepts no mods or changes, go apple. If you desire something more open go kitkat!


But there are so many more apple apps!

apple pie, apple fritters, apple juice, apple cider, apple jacks, apple crisp, apple cake, apple butter, apple muffins, apple brown betty, apple turnovers, apple strudel, apple tart, baked apples, apple sauce, caramel apples, apple dumplings, apple chutney, apple crumble, ...

also with KitKat, thanks to fragmentation if you aren't careful you can be stuck with a real mess on your hands.


Actually, apples hybridize very easily.


I'm not sure that was what jahewson meant.


Apple as in the fruit.


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Oh come on... leave this kind of stupid things for reddit or slashdot.


They've coordinated their joke with http://www.android.com/kitkat/


More like Kitkat bought the next android name.. nice move.


It benefits both: KitKat is a great name for an Android release, it's alliterative, more recognizable, and of course it offers co-branding and co-marketing opportunities galore. It's a great business opportunity.

But there's a better reason that's less obvious: this is great marketing because it's fun. It's sort of funny that your phone runs on a candy bar, and your candy bar is fully supportive of it. It's a refreshing counterplay to what would otherwise be a horrible and usually expected lawsuit over the naming rights.

It's brilliant marketing, and brilliant UX on a grand scale. True props to these teams for working together and having some fun. A success of honesty and humanity that may or may not be insanely successful, but is at least authentic and refreshing.


Wow -- you managed to call crass, vapid consumerism built around substandard unhealthy confection 'authentic and refreshing'.

That's impressive. What would be more impressive is if Google hadn't sold out their userbase to Idiocracy-style co-branding with a diabetes inducing sugar product.

In other news: This is a Pepsi Cola Comment: Maximize Your Thrist!


The measure of marketing is effectiveness, not moral validity. I'll let you judge that for yourself (and you clearly have).


>A success of honesty and humanity

That may be just a bit much.

I liked the rest of it though, it is fun.


So this effusive line: "A success of honesty and humanity that may or may not be insanely successful, but is at least authentic and refreshing."

Was actually about effectiveness?


Yeah, it's how I interpreted it, it's how others will likely interpret it. I'm qualified to say this because I'm a designer and marketing professional and have a knack for empathy and understanding how a variety of people will perceive campaigns. Connotations and evoked feelings are a huge part of this, and Google-Kat has achieved those feelings of authenticity here without a doubt. It's a good campaign.


"... and Google-Kat has achieved those feelings of authenticity here without a doubt"

You don't see the irony here, do you? This is why it's so crass.


I'm only a little ashamed to admit, I bought a KitKat today.


Did you run your finger along the tinfoil to cut it perfectly in half? That is a staple of every Britons childhood.


Having moved from the UK to the US, it makes me angry and disappointed that they don't use the paper/foil packaging here, so you can't do that :/


I haven't seen a paper/foil packaged kitkat in years, and this is in the UK. It seems they've abandoned it completely, which is saddening.


The 2 finger multi-packs (x8) have them, sold in Tesco and probably the other large supermarkets, I ate one (for the first time in a long time) yesterday and it was paper + tinfoil + delicious.


The mini KitKats in the US are still wrapped in paper, too.


I haven't ever seen a paper/foil packaged kitkat. I think i missed out on something.


Was it a life's ambition to find a Kit-Kat finger made of only chocolate, rendering it merely a small thin bar of chocolate?

I found a half all solid chocolate finger once. Made my day!!!


They used to be packaged in paper and foil in the US as well. I haven't seen one in years though.


and the tinfoil was a handy way for heroin users to cook up as it was the cheapest way to buy a bit of tinfoil from a petrol station.


But it must be a Nestle KitKat. Here in the U.S. you can find them in specialty stores. Its worth it.


Huh? You can buy them at any corner gas station.


No, in the US they're made by Hershey. Elsewhere its Nestlé.


Specialty stores that specialize in selling gas, maybe?


You can buy Hershey Kit Kat (made under license) in the US at any corner store, complete with artificial flavor. Nestle Kit Kat (the original) tastes better.


I've tasted both. Not much difference.


Hershey make them under license, but as with all hershey chocolate, they do not add milk or sugar, so it tastes horrible.


Quite the opposite. Hershey adds so MUCH milk and sugar that it's more of a slightly brown sugary mass than anything resembling real chocolate.


They use soured milk.


and corn syrup


Same here, although I prefer the dark chocolate ones (one of the few! alternative flavors available in the US). Then I told myself - wait for the contest to begin... I was one of those kids who passed the marshmallow test.


Haha, same thing happened to me. I strolled on down to the vending machine and bought one a few minutes ago. I haven't had one in months, maybe years but hey it's pretty good.


I assumed this, as soon as I realized they were using a branded dessert instead of a generic one.




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