TOP ARAB TALENT WINS INAUGRUAL KIT KAT COMEDY BREAK COMPETITION

• Bahraini comedian Waddah Swar scoops the first cash prize of $15,000 and the opportunity to appear as the opening act for Fahad Albutairi
• The three winners and the public's favourite receive a total of $32,500 in cash
• Renowned Arab comedians Tony Abou Jaoude, Ali Al Sayed, Shaima Al Sayed and Fahad Albutairi evaluated more than 100 entries from 13 countries

Dubai, 9 July, 2013: Bahraini comedian Waddah Swar has been crowned the funniest Arab after beating over 100 entrants from 13 countries to win the first ever KIT KAT Comedy Break, Nestlé Middle East's competition to boost young comedy talent and creativity. Swar scooped the first cash prize of US$15,000 and beat fellow runners up, Mohamed Morgan and Rami Boraie, to appear as the opening act for the Saudi comedian Fahad Albutairi.

Egyptian funnymen Morgan and Boraie were awarded $10,000 and $5,000 for second and third places while Shady Salah from Jordan was named the public's favourite comedian and given a cash prize of $2,500.

After submitting their winning videos to the dedicated KIT KAT Comedy Break YouTube channel and beating off 115 contestants, the top nine finalists moved into the KIT KAT Comedy Break Villa in Dubai to battle it out in a series of challenges judged by some of the Arab world's most famous comedians.

Tony Abou Jaoude, Ali Al Sayed, Shaima Al Sayed and Fahad Albutairi put the contestants through their paces throughout the competition, rating their performances, coaching them and offering tips on improving their stand-up routines.

Remy Ejel, Business Executive Manager, Confectionery, at Nestlé Middle East said: “We have been overwhelmed by the public's response across the region and internally as they watched our amateur comedians battle it out against each other. The audience's participation and comments on social media made the judging process and performances even more interactive and fun.

“I would like to congratulate our winners and our judges for their continued commitment and their true desire to develop the young talent. Our judges provided the finalists with invaluable coaching and guidance and witnessing our finalists' journey to become more accomplished comedians has been a pleasure,” he added.

KIT KAT Comedy Break's online ratings and viewership on social media soared during the month of June with the KIT KAT Arabia Facebook page acquiring an average of 1,759 fans per day, a total of 216,403 fans during the 17-week competition.

KIT KAT YouTube views are currently ranked No.1 in Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar and eighth in the UAE and ninth in Egypt and Saudi Arabia for brand channels. Meanwhile the total number of video views has exceeded 2.1 million.

Weekly footage of the comedians' challenges can be seen on www.kitkatcomedybreak.com, www.facebook.com/kitkat.arabia and www.twitter.com/kitkatarabia.