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  1. Phones
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  3. Three

The hidden truth behind Three's new Muppet ad

News
By Gareth Beavis published 5 June 2015

The furry monster is hiding something

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Muppet or madness?

Muppet or madness?

When first watching the new Three ad, you could be forgiven for thinking it's nothing more than a new campaign, combining a Henson Muppet with an East 17 track.

A simple tale of a fluffy monster that battles back from adversity to start a revolution. Brilliant times, right?

Wrong.

There's a secret lurking behind the whole thing. Watch it once and you'll miss it, but watch it 37 times and you'll notice that there's a lot going on you haven't realised.

Page 1 of 14
Page 1 of 14
1. He's shifting locations at will

1. He's shifting locations at will

Purple is meant to be on some desolate US streets at the start. It's a nod to New York, but the sign for 'Plato's Retreat 2' is an advert for a slightly dodgy club in Fort Lauderdale, which shut down in 2006.

The cars are driving on the left, yet outside Mount Montrose that's clearly a US number plate – despite the doorman being English.

Page 2 of 14
Page 2 of 14
2. Why is the dog attacking him?

2. Why is the dog attacking him?

OK, so Purple is short, but a dog won't randomly attack a stranger and grab his umbrella. Was he poking him, goading the dog into the attack?

And the dog seems to belong to the chap on the phone – so why isn't he turning? Is he aware… or simply a part of the scenery?

Page 3 of 14
Page 3 of 14
3. Where are his parents from?

3. Where are his parents from?

It's a little unclear, but that sounds like a Devonshire accent on the Dad, despite them clearly being on a mid-west farm.

Page 4 of 14
Page 4 of 14
4. How does he dry so quickly?

4. How does he dry so quickly?

After the hallucination, Purple suddenly dries in a second, and the rain stops. Something happened here – and it's a clear sign of what's REALLY going on.

Page 5 of 14
Page 5 of 14
5. He makes the girl cry

5. He makes the girl cry

Sure, losing your ice cream is a terrible thing to happen. But slow things down and you'll realise something – she only starts crying when Purple shows up. Is he a portent of something bigger?

Page 6 of 14
Page 6 of 14
6. Nobody cares about the injured cheerleader

6. Nobody cares about the injured cheerleader

Sorry for being HUMAN, but if I'm leading cheers while dressed in skin-tight Spandex and shaking my pom-poms and I hear a scream behind me, I'd turn around to see what's what. The crowd's heads would definitely turn as well.

Then Purple turns up. Nobody looks at him either.

Page 7 of 14
Page 7 of 14
7. Why is he pushing the car over the cliff?

7. Why is he pushing the car over the cliff?

Purple isn't helping the couple in jeopardy. If anything, he's making it worse, by not shifting his weight back and helping counter-balance the stricken auto.

In fact, why is he on the car at all, and suspiciously near the brake cable?

Page 8 of 14
Page 8 of 14
8. Who opened the back door?

8. Who opened the back door?

In what looks suspiciously like a British kitchen (that's Hartley's jam in the fridge), there's a snake. Nothing weird there, perhaps. Zoos have breakouts all the time.

But look at the back door. It's a split one. If this lady, in her nightwear, was going to open it to have a shufty outside, she'd have only opened the top section, thus giving a modicum of serpent protection.

But someone opened it all the way. And someone just flicked their way out of the fridge at the correct moment.

Page 9 of 14
Page 9 of 14
9. That golf cart's fire is confusing

9. That golf cart's fire is confusing

Look at the front. The flames are licking up from INSIDE. Doesn't seem like it started itself, does it?

Page 10 of 14
Page 10 of 14
10. Quicksand guy in peril

10. Quicksand guy in peril

Let's ignore the fact Purple has a quad bike and is ignoring the dying man – why is that sign off centre? The way it's attached hints at two struts, but only one is in shot.

In fact, there's no hint of a second one ever being there. Something seems surreal.

Page 11 of 14
Page 11 of 14
11. Why doesn't he take a risk?

11. Why doesn't he take a risk?

I know what you're thinking. Bomb man doesn't want to cut the yellow wire as it could set off the bomb.

But it's about to blow anyway, and some part of him thinks the yellow wire could lead to salvation. Why wouldn't he take a chance?

Also, there's no chance Purple would have got away in time if the bomb did blow.

Page 12 of 14
Page 12 of 14
12. The final piece of the puzzle

12. The final piece of the puzzle

So the finale is something straight out of a fantasy. Purple, despite being the architect of so much doom in the video, is leading a troupe in a hyper-energetic dance.

The bomb dude is alive. The girl has a gravity-defying ice cream. The cheerleaders are dressed in HIS colours. The whole thing seems oddly perfect, which leads us to the only explanation:

Page 13 of 14
Page 13 of 14
13. It's the fevered dream of a dying Muppet

13. It's the fevered dream of a dying Muppet

Here's the only plausible explanation: Purple is slumped in an alleyway in Somewhere-In-The-US, his mind flashing images of pain with him escaping as he battles against the grim reality his failed attempt to 'make it' has forced him to live.

It explains why the guy on the phone didn't turn around, why the cheerleaders continued, why the couple in the car didn't beg for his help. He was the main protagonist in his own warped nightmare.

I can't handle the sadness. We've got to find a way to save him. I'm going to go and watch Inception a few times to work out how.

#savepurple

Page 14 of 14
Page 14 of 14
Gareth Beavis
Gareth Beavis
Social Links Navigation
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.

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