The hidden truth behind Three's new Muppet ad

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.