Android KitKat Branding Discussed By Hershey Vice President Of U.S. Chocolate

Google has pulled a first for its Android system, choosing to brand the next version — Android 4.4 — with a product's trademark rather than going with a generic dessert. The information was dropped today by Android's Sundar Pichai, who revealed the name but gave precious little information about the branding choice. Hershey's Vice President of U.S. Chocolate, Jennifer Podhajsky, has given some info to the Vancouver Sun, however.

According to Podhajsky, Google approached Hershey about using the KitKat name six to nine months ago, with Hershey owning the licensing rights to the brand in the United States and Nestle holding rights to the worldwide brand. Obviously, such licensing was achieved, though how much Google paid out for the rights wasn't specified.

Why go with KitKat? Said the VP, "KitKat consumers are young, vibrant consumers of candy and chocolate bars, and that's a nice match with Android." She also said that the candy's jingle ("Give me a break," as it were) is relevant to the notion of someone taking a break and pulling out their smartphone or tablet.

Expanding on the mention Pichai made about KitKats being one of the team's favorite snacks, Android's Director of Marketing Marc Vanlerberghe said of the candy bars: "[KitKat is a] favourite go-to snack among the team since the early days of Android." Beloved enough to have the next Android iteration become its namesake? Apparently so.

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun