London, United Kingdom – As many people are turning to social media to break up their day, the global chocolate brand KitKat has launched a new interactive campaign on Instagram called the ‘Blink Break’, a fun distraction from the mundane every day that gives people the chance to have a break from what they are doing and go head-to-head in an AI-powered staring contest.
Built by integrated marketing agency Wunderman Thompson and using MediaPipe’s cutting-edge Face Mesh technology, the online game is enabled with a single camera input that uses machine learning to recognise a face and detect blinking, returning results literally within the blink of an eye. Participants face off against progressively more absurd animals the further through the game they get, from a lemur to a snowy owl. With a pause in the action between each level, those who play are also encouraged to compete against each other and share their results using #blinkchallenge.
Wael Jabi, KitKat’s global strategic marketing and communications lead, said, “KitKat has famously encouraged people to have a break since 1957, and this campaign shows a whole generation of digital natives the benefits of taking a break in one of the most relevant contexts for them.”
Meanwhile, Paul Shearer, Wunderman Thompson’s global chief creative officer, noted, “Developing cutting-edge AI technology that responds within the blink of an eye is an unexpected move for KitKat, but gives the brand a chance to show up and show off their legendary positioning in a fresh and relevant way to a new audience.”
This new interactive game is now available on KitKat’s global Instagram channel, with posts coinciding with the infamous mid-afternoon slump when people are most in need of a light-hearted distraction.
