THE KITKAT HEIST
Brand
KITKAT
Entrant Agency
VML
Category
Social & Creator
Festival & Year
Cannes Lions (2026)
Case Study Details
THE KITKAT HEIST - KitKat - Burson (London) / VML (London) - CANNES LIONS 2026
Presentation Board
CGSHEIST
STOLEN ; J | 22 MILLION”
i WwW rk TRACKER ENGAGEMENTS
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TRACKER Je ya),
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Bets INDAILY VIEWS
‘source:
70.5 BILLION
SOCIAL REACH
‘SOURCE: TALKWALKER
“THE INTERNET:,
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
0 im | 4
We can confirm that 12T of KitKat
products were stolen while in transit
between our factory in Central Italy
and their destination in Poland.
KitKat
© KITKAT OWNED
META PLATFORMS"
LUCA ROMANELI, META
We are working closely with local
authorities and supply chain
partners to investigate.
The good news: there are no
Concems for consumer safety,
and supply is not affected,
Thank you
793 KITKATS HAVE
| = 413, EEN STOLEN.
INGENIOUS
ONE OF THEM?
Forbes IS YOURS
44%
r CHECK NOW | GF-ALL VIEWS ACROSS META OVER EASTER
(SNORE conecsron
RECRUITING SOCIAL AUDIENCES TO HELP SOLVE A REAL-WORLD CRIME
Context: A week before Easter, a key sales moment for chocolate, KitKat faced a supply chain Idea: We turned all that attention into action. The Stolen KitKat Tracker empowered social communities to become
crisis: 12 tonnes were stolen in transit. Rather than hide it, we posted the story to capture the detectives, checking batch codes to discover if their KitKat was stolen. A digital tool, built at speed, that not only
social world’s attention, encouraging sharing, commentary and UGC. gamified the heist, but encouraged purchase, and revealed a verified lead for the police investigation.
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