Diet Coke and Mentos Geyser

2006

Date: 3 June 2006 (Eepybird's The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments) · Place: Buckfield, Maine · Revver and YouTube · Figures: Stephen Voltz, lawyer-turned-performer · Fritz Grobe, juggler · Eepybird, performance collective · Tags: Stunt, Practical 01. 101 Bottles, 523 Geysers Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe, performing as Eepybird, post The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments on Revver on 3 June 2006. They use 101 bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos mints to choreograph a synchronised fountain show in a Maine field. The video is shot like a music video, scored to lounge music, edited to the geyser rhythm. The dropping-Mentos-in-Coke trick is old (the chemistry was published in 1999); the choreography is new. Eepybird's production values are higher than any prior viral-stunt video. 02. The First Sponsored Viral Stunt Within a week the video has 5 million views, then 15 million. Mentos pays Eepybird directly. Coca-Cola refuses to engage at first, then pivots and sponsors a sequel. Revver's revenue-share model pays Eepybird roughly $30,000 from the first video alone; the pair quit their day jobs. Diet Coke and Mentos is the first viral video to operationally prove that performers can make a living from the form, that brands will pay for placement, and that practical-effect stunts beat Flash animation as the era's dominant video format. The format eats its parent: YouTube swallows Revver, Newgrounds, and ebaums within five years. Sources • Wired, 'Diet Coke and Mentos: What Happens Next' (2006) • Eepybird.com, The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments • Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe, How to Build a Viral Hit (Workman, 2013)