Nestlé’s Antonia Farquhar on why KitKat and F1 joined forces

KitKat’s “Have a break” slogan has been around for nearly 70 years — but lately, it’s been showing up in some unexpected places, like on a Formula One track.

For Antonia Farquhar, Nestlé’s global head of media and partnerships, these moves are about more than grabbing eyeballs. They’re part of a strategy to keep nearly century-old brands culturally fresh by pairing consistent brand foundations with surprising contexts. That’s partly why Nestlé and F1 announced last year that KitKat would be the official chocolate bar partner of the racing organization.

“It’s about holding on to what makes your brand distinctive,” she says, “but being bold enough to show up somewhere unexpected.”

That philosophy underpins Nestlé’s global shift toward “fewer, bigger, better campaigns” — from leaning into connected TV’s shoppable potential to weaving brands into live cultural moments.

“Sports is one of the last truly appointment-to-view experiences,” Farquhar notes. “You don’t want to miss the race — and people are talking about it. That’s an opportunity to connect.”

In this episode of The Big Impression, Farquhar shares how she’s scaling high-impact activations across 188 markets, unifying reach and frequency in streaming and proving that when it comes to brand-building, the element of surprise still matters.