Me neither. Until today that is. Yet, it won’t be long before everyone knows of the brand. That’s because Stride (owned by Cadbury-Schweppes) has cashed in handsomely on one of the most truly viral online videos of all time called “Where the hell is Matt?” (among other names). You may recall Matt Harding (apols if the site is slow; seems like the entire world is trying to access it today). A couple of years ago he quit his job and traveled around the world. Along the way some friends started filming him doing a goofy, cringeworthy dance. He came home from his travels, compiled all the footage and edited it down, posting it online to the wonder of hundreds of thousands of web users who couldn’t get enough of his round-the-world dancing oddyssey.

Well, Matt is back. And his following is bigger than ever. He’s posted a new video to YouTube, showing even more places — In about two weeks’ time he’s racked up over 4.5 million viewers and press coverage from across the planet, no doubt delighting the Stride marketing genius who took a flutter on the awkward Yank and his cartoon-style dance.

Among the gushing press coverage comes this piece from today’s New York Times celebrating the brilliance of “Dancing”:

In many ways “Dancing” is an almost perfect piece of Internet art: it’s
short, pleasingly weird and so minimal in its content that it’s open to
a multitude of interpretations. It could be a little commercial for
one-world feel-goodism. It could be an allegory of American foreign
policy: a bumptious foreigner turning up all over the world and
answering just to his own inner music. Or it could be about nothing at
all — just a guy dancing.

The Times, as are we, are also amazed at Stride’s decision not to ham up the video even more by slapping its brand name all over it. It’s just Matt, the dance and a cast of hundreds goofing around with him. As The Times writes:

…in the newest video, the company is acknowledged at the very end, but
amazingly, in this era of shameless commercial tie-ins, Mr. Harding is
not obliged to wear a Stride T-shirt or deliver a little pitch for the
product. Exactly what connection the company sees between gum and a guy
dancing, but not chewing, remains a bit of a mystery.

Here’s the video. Warning: it’s pretty damn infectious and might even bring a smile to your face.