The Context

The installation was strategically placed in one of Hyderabad’s largest and busiest commercial hubs. In these environments, life rarely pauses, and even breaks are often rushed or spent multitasking. Vending machines are globally recognized as symbols of immediacy, usually dispensing snacks in about three seconds.

Kitkat identified that the modern hustle in India has shortened the traditional break. By placing a deliberately sluggish machine in a high-traffic area, the brand aimed to test whether a forced pause could transform a routine transaction into a meaningful experience.

The Creative Idea

The core insight behind the Slowest Vending Machine in the World is rooted in Kitkat’s iconic “Have a Break” philosophy. Instead of delivering a chocolate bar instantly, the machine invites the user to go on a visual journey. It subverts the expectation of convenience to provide a “scenic break.”

Developed through a collaboration between VML India and VML Netherlands, the project was engineered to make the wait feel like a reward rather than an inconvenience. The goal was to give people a guilt-free moment of wonder, allowing them to simply watch and smile while their snack was prepared.

Execution

The physical machine, brought to life by the Delhi-based production house The Other Half, features a transparent front that reveals a complex, miniature world. Once a user inserts a coin, the Kitkat does not simply drop; it embarks on a leisurely tour of Indian life.

• The chocolate bar travels via a miniature toy train through a crafted landscape.
• It passes through a rotating Ferris wheel, mimicking a local carnival.
• The bar hitches a ride on a vibrantly decorated iconic Indian truck.
• It floats gently along a simulated river before joining a festive procession.
• The entire journey takes significantly longer than a standard machine, forcing the consumer to wait and observe.

Why the KitKat Slowest Vending Machine in the World Works

This campaign succeeds because it uses “friction” as a positive brand attribute. While most brands compete to be the fastest, Kitkat wins by being the slowest. This creates a high level of engagement as passersby stop to see why a crowd has gathered around a vending machine.

The visual storytelling inside the machine resonates emotionally. By using familiar cultural symbols like the toy train and the festive procession, the brand creates a sense of nostalgia and delight. It transforms a solitary act of buying a snack into a shared, immersive event that people naturally want to record and share on social media.

Final Takeaway

The KitKat Slowest Vending Machine in the World serves as a physical manifesto for the Kitkat brand. It proves that even in the middle of a frantic workday, there is always time to pause. By slowing down the delivery of the product, Kitkat successfully increased the value of the break itself.

Credits:
Brand: Kitkat (Nestlé)
Agency: VML India & VML Netherlands
Production: The Other Half
Chief Creative Officer: Kalpesh Patankar (VML India)
Global Chief Creative Officer, Innovation: Bas Korsten

Explore more innovative OOH campaigns

This campaign is about: KitKat Slowest Vending Machine in the World, KitKat, VML, Scenic Break, Creative Advertising, Brand Experience, Outdoor Marketing, Mindfulness in Advertising.

Background:
Between 2014 and 2015, tens of thousands of refugees came to the Netherlands, mainly fleeing war in Syria and Eritrea. Even though many of them were given residency permits, today they are still struggling to find work. Hack Your Future, helps them become web-developers through a 7-month program — empowering them by unlocking a career within big names of the tech industry. But even with a shortage of developers in the Netherlands, stereotypes and stigmas are still blinding many recruiters, preventing them from looking outside of their usual pool of talent. The ambition of ‘Behind the Source’ is to address this very issue and to open recruiters’ eyes, one code line at a time.

Being a refugee wasn’t their choice.
Becoming a developer was.

Idea:
‘Behind the Source’ is an awareness campaign launched by Hack Your Future (a coding school for refugees) that aims to reframe the conversation around refugees and tackles the many misconceptions, stigmas and prejudices that shadow their potential when it comes to applying for a job. It consists of seven portraits that have been hidden in the source code of the online homepages of companies, such as eBay and Accenture, where Hack Your Future graduates now work. All people have to do is go on these websites — such as Ebay and Accenture — click ‘View Source’ in their browser to discover the portraits, hidden in the code, and read the exceptional journeys of those who went from refugees to employees.

Results:
In the end, a potential of +24000 visitors went behind the source, reframing the conversation around refugees in the Netherlands, and beyond — even getting the initiative referenced by the UN Agency as best in class. Thirteen new companies contacted Hack Your Future to hire graduates and sponsor the program, which eventually raised the number of graduates who successfully found a job to 120: 120 individuals who refused to let a label define their future.

Credits
Agency: 72andSunny, Amsterdam
Client: Hack Your Future
Product: Coding School for Refugees
Campaign: Behind the Source
Category: Experiential marketing

Most people in Indonesia live away from home to work in the city. The most common way for these people to stay in touch with their family is through video calls, so on Father’s Day we saw an opportunity to reignite the value of relationships and create a memorable event for Google Duo – a video calling app.

But with a tiny share of market, and an even tinier budget, we needed to create a campaign that would organically ride the social waves and cut through the clutter.

Instead of creating a campaign for many, we decided to create an ad for one guy – Ringgo Agus Rahman, a well known comedian and social media influencer. Unknown to Ringgo, we worked with his dad and surprised him with a personal message on a billboard in the middle of Jakarta city. And from there we let Ringgo’s followers do the influencing on our behalf.

Credits
Client: Google
Product: Google Duo
Advertising Agency: Toaster

Tags:
Out of Home, Billboards, Google, Father’s Day, Surprise, Toaster, Singapore, Google Duo, Creative Agency, digital agency, Outdoor Ads

Why is Experiential Marketing Campaigns the need of the hour? Is it really effective? In our opinion, experiential marketing helps a brand to get into the hearts and minds of its customers through a unique experience. An experience is remembered because it leaves you with emotion, whether it is a joyful emotion or a memorable expression. If a brand is able to stir the right positive emotions within their customers then they’re home! And the probability of customers turning into loyal consumers increases as today’s customer is looking for meaningful associations through experiences. It’s no more a mere one-time transaction for them. It’s definitely more impactful than just throwing up Facebook or Twitter ads or things like that.

Work events are really hit or miss. Let’s be honest: How many times have you found yourself anxiously fidgeting with a paper napkin in the corner of a stuffy networking happy hour?

Have you ever thought as to why events or trade shows or industry seminars don’t really make people come back? It’s not about the event. It’s about the experience people go through. An experiential marketing campaign like an entire area been designed to look and feel like a giant video game for a game promotion is much better than a normal kiosk or a verbose discourse at an event where many just yawn and forget and never come back. Then it’s no more a yet another exhausting event but an exciting experience to look forward to. That’s what experiential marketing is all about.

Refinery29: 29Rooms

An interactive funhouse of style, culture, & technology #ExpandYourReality

So how is it done really? And how can you use it to make maximum impact? After a relentless search, we have found 5 examples of effective experiential marketing campaigns for you. Read on!

Adidas – Boston Marathon
The fitness brand Adidas gave every athlete in the race the star treatment by capturing their progress with a camera crew and RFID chips

We’re #HereToCreate Legend. Now every #BostonMarathon

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Feeling those post-marathon blues after such a rush of excitement and utter craziness yesterday… but fun to reflect back on the experience. Adidas created a little video for each and every competitor! Check yours out ???????? Go to the link in my bio, scroll down and type in your bib number, and VOILA! @adidasrunning #createdwithadidas #BostonMarathon #HereToCreate

A post shared by Amanda Nurse (@amandarunsboston) on Apr 17, 2018 at 5:27pm PDT

Red Bull Stratos

– Felix Baumgartner
See through the eyes of Felix Baumgartner as he completes his world record-breaking jump from the stratosphere!

Coca Cola FIFA World Cup AR Experience

Coca-Cola wanted to celebrate their continued support of the FIFA World Cup 2018, with an Augmented Reality experience that gave football fans the chance to play alongside Switzerland star Xherdan Shaqiri.

Listerine – Bring Out the Bold

Mercedes-Benz Invisible Car

Nike Unlimited Stadium

The world’s first full-size LED running track. The world’s most innovative training environment.

Tags:
Boston Athletic Association, Adidas, Experiential Marketing Campaigns, Fitness, RFID, Athlete, Refinery29, 29Rooms, Marketing Campaigns, Style, Culture, Technology, Interactive Campaigns, Boston Marathon, Felix Baumgartner, Red Bull Stratos, Red Bull Space Jump, AR, Augmented reality, Celebrity Endorsement, Coca-Cola, Digital, Out of Home, OOH, FIFA World Cup, Football, Sports, Xherdan Shaqiri, J. Walter Thompson, Listerine Bring Out the Bold, The Invisible Drive, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz Invisible Car, Jung von Matt, Cannes Lions, Clio Grand Prix, One Show Awards, Andy Awards, Creative Circle Awards Grand Prix, Ad Stars Grand Prix, BBH Singapore, Nike, Nike Unlimited Stadium, Best Technology campaigns, Best Digital Campaigns

With ‘A monument against silence’, HORNBACH and Heimat are shining the spotlight on the toilet – focusing on its significance to the individual in this modern day and age. To this purpose, they have literally created the ultimate toilet right in the middle of Berlin ’from everything available in the HORNBACH product range’, combined with 3D projections, vibrating sound and tactile materials.

One hundred specially selected guests have been invited to take a seat and share their experiences. Among them, a colon therapist, a scientist, a naturopath, and various members of the public.

The accompanying online-film is a true-to-life documentary chronicling the process of going to the toilet in three parts: retreat, digestion and relief. As HORNBACH says: ‘It’s time to talk about it’.

‘It was important to us to portray the process of going to the toilet as an act of physical and mental contemplation, as well as spiritual cleansing. It was equally important to depict digestion as a creative process, in order to break down inhibitions and start the dialogue. To this end, we built the toilet to resemble an altar in a cathedral,’ says Corbinian Hennies, creative director at Heimat.

Particularly in a hectic and fast-living world, the need for calm and contemplation is greater than ever. ‘A toilet can be so much more than a mere necessity. People can design a toilet they enjoy visiting and can find peace and quiet there,’ says Thomas Schnaitmann, head of marketing in Germany and marketing communication worldwide at HORNBACH. ‘By showing what is possible with a little imagination and the HORNBACH product range, we want to inspire people to get creative and turn their own toilet into a monument. The question is: ‘What will you make of your toilet?’

Credits-
Campaign: The HORNBACH toilet. A monument against silence
Media (international): Digital (video, display, social media), Cinema, out-of-home
Agency: Heimat Berlin
Film-Production: Bentele Becker Bewegtbild
Set construction, sound design: m box Bewegtbild GmbH
Direction: Jan Hendrik Becker, Ulrich Bentele
Music: Perkypark Musik GmbH (Peter Hayo)

Tags:
TBWA Worldwide, TBWA, HORNBACH toilet, Technology, Innovation, Digital, Tech Campaign, A monument against silence

Credits:
Client: Equinox
Project: Commit to Something
Format: Print, Out-of-home, Digital, Social, In Club (windows/displays)
Chief Marketing Officer: Carlos Becil
Executive Creative Director: Liz Nolan
Senior Manager, Social Media: Caitlin Schneider
Manager, Social Media: Carly Roth
Senior Manager, Studio Services: Gisela Delgado
Print Production Assistant: Lisa Day
Senior Manager, Brand Communications: Ashley Anderson
Assistant Marketing Manager: Kathryn Morgan
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Executive Creative Directors: Colleen DeCourcy
Creative Directors: John Parker & Sean McLaughlin
Copywriter: Rajeev Basu
Art Director: Mathieu Zarbatany
Art Director, Social: Alison Joseph
Director of Art Production: Deb Rosen
Photographer: Steven Klein
Account Director: Casey Jennings
Account Supervisor: Kristen Herrington
Account Executive: Jasmine Cogdell
Project Manager: Danielle Rounds
Business Affairs: Keri Rommel, Lindsey Timko
Brand Strategist: Neal Arthur
Content Strategist: Matt Simpson
Community Manager: James Williams
Designer: Design Director: Serifcan Ozcan; Designer: Brian Metcalf
Media Director of W+KNY: David Stopforth
Group Media Director: Ryan Haskins
Media Supervisor: Courtney Bernstein
Media Platforms: Yoni Freedman
Photographer: Steven Klein
Photographer’s Agent: Art Partner
Stylist: Mel Ottenberg
Set Designer: David White
Retouching Agency: Steven Klein Studio
Production Company: North Six
Executive Producer: Jordanna Vogel
Line Producer: Kellie Tissear