A bizarre publicity stunt has ended in a sweet surprise for some residents of Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Newcastle who woke to the eerie sight of a purple balloon floating above their letterboxes.

Although thoughts of the terrifying Pennywise the clown may have entered some minds, further investigation found the balloons were attached to a free block of Cadbury’s newest chocolate, Breakaway.

Along with the chocolate was a note from the confectionery giant explaining the package has been delivered COVID-Safely and the balloon is biodegradable.

“We know it has been a challenging time for many, but we want to continue to celebrate the small things in life,” the note reads.

“It’s been a difficult time for many Australians, so we wanted to use World Chocolate Day as an opportunity to surprise and delight everyday Aussies across the county to make their morning a little more interesting with Cadbury Breakaway,” Paul Chatfield, senior marketing director for Cadbury said in a statement.

In addition to this sweet surprise, for World Chocolate Day, Cadbury has teamed up with OzHarvest, encouraging customers to donate $5 or more to the food rescue organisation in exchange for a free block of chocolate. The promotion will run until 11.59pm Wednesday, July 7 or until stocks are exhausted. Customers can donate and redeem their block here.