At The Drum Studio in Cannes, KitKat and Kantar unpack how AI helped build one of the most creatively effective campaigns of the year – and what every marketer can learn from it.
KitKat used AI to help build one of the most creatively effective campaigns of the year
How do you balance creative instinct with AI-powered precision? That’s the question KitKat’s global head of marketing and communications, Wael Jabi, and Kantar’s global creative and media lead, Duncan Southgate, explored in Cannes, diving into the bold, award-winning ‘Break Better’ campaign – where Queen’s I Want to Break Free nearly didn’t make the cut.
“I was pressured by our CFOs and management [asking] do we really need to pay this money? Could the ad not work with just a generic piece of track?” explains Jabi. “And so we put that question in with Kantar, and we were able to support the conversation that these are the kind of things that really make a difference.”
From soundtrack selection to cross-market adaptation, AI powered key creative decisions in developing the ad every step of the way, from concept to execution, even using LINK AI to choose the iconic soundtrack “It is really powerful. And without the confidence that we got from the testing, we weren’t able to move ahead,” Jabi adds.
The campaign nailed several of Kantar’s ‘5Cs’ of creative effectiveness – courageous, catastrophizing, candid, consistent and comical. “Consistency is for sure a superpower,” says Jabi. “Candidness is another one… we like to show humans a little mirror of what’s happening in their lives, with the creative drama that comes with it.”
“What we’re proving now is that you can actually pick apart really good creativity,” says Southgate, making the case for AI as a creative co-pilot: “The AI is getting smarter and smarter. It’s not just functional. It’s picking up on more emotional signals. Every year we improve the model, it’s able to pick up those kinds of nuances now.”
But the secret? It’s still human. “Try to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer,” says Jabi. “What would your mother say? Following your gut is really, really important.”
Southgate agrees: “Pull together a cohesive set of creative development research throughout the process, and that leads to the kinds of amazing insights we’ve got for this campaign. And make sure you’re applying human insights or AI testing throughout that entire creative journey.”
The full session reveals how AI didn’t replace creativity but it did make it braver. Take a break and catch the conversation now on The Drum TV.
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Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies. We help brands to shape...