The London-based Saatchi & Saatchi writing team of Richard Denning and Dave Henderson recently had a eureka moment while viewing one of YouTube’s most virally popular spots. As that now-famous goofball dropped a Mento candy into a Pepsi to produce an effect that fizzed around the world, a thought occurred regarding their own beer client.

‘They figured, why not extend their ‘Tetley’s don’t do things by half’ campaign by creating a spoof spot – and making it more dramatic than any of the existing virals,’ Matt Ryan tells MiC. Based in London and Capetown, he ended up directing the spot that resulted from the writers’ epiphany. The 42-second clip hilariously one-ups the Mentos/Pepsi effort, as a Yorkshire bloke puts a Mento into a can of Tetleys Bitter – and a firehose-sized gush knocks over everything in sight, even dowsing the onlooking camera.

Ryan says the spot is going down a treat in the UK and elsewhere, with its viral popularity overtaking the clip that inspired it. And he thinks he knows why. ‘Virals succeed on the premise that people will pass them on because they amuse and entertain or shock. This discerning young audience will only share what they consider to be entertaining. But an awful lot of effort is being wasted on creating virals right now because the ideas are not strong enough.’

The Tetley’s spot can be viewed at www.hanrahan.co.uk/tetleys.shtml.