Tarsem does the Dew Ang Lee-style in a new spot entitled "Duo" for Mountain Dew through BBDO, New York.

"We wanted to explore the genre of Wuxia [martial-chivalric fiction] and utilize women with very strong characters to take on a lead role," explains BBDO's exec creative director Bill Bruce. "The idea was to give female Dew drinkers more attention, plus we realized that two women fighting would be hit with a teen male audience.

"Tarsem was excited by the boards so we basically worked through some clichés then focused on how to choreograph the spot," he says.

"Duo" captures an epic, mythical China that opens with a can of Mountain Dew flying through the air in an open courtyard veiled in moonlight. Two female martial arts masters fly through the air to grab the legendary fizz and end up fighting over its precious ingredients.

An action sequence ensues with both warriors grasping the can with one hand, leaving the other to brandish their swords. Each character twists and swerves, dodging the deadly blades flying through the air, all caught with succinct camerawork and tight edits (Robert Duffy of Spot Welders hammered out the cuts) until the two swords are lost.

The spot ends when the Dew is raised above the warrior's heads during a fistfight, leaving an unseen judge to fire a dart through the can from a neighboring roof. The Dew then flows from the sides of the can into each warrior's mouth, leaving four judges to utter the most Zen of cutlines: "It is better to have half a Dew than no Dew at all."

Shooting took place in China to capture the scenery required to evoke an ancient setting.

"We wanted to place the spot within an ancient Ming Dynasty setting and begin by having the women practicing an internal discipline," continues Bruce. "One woman is practicing calligraphy while the other is feeding her birds. The spot commences with two very quiet, internalised scenes then both characters sense a can of Dew flying through the air to reveal a very aggressive part of their personalities."

The spot also contains exquisite sounds captured by former Police drum guru/ composer/lyricist Stuart Copeland of LA-based Groove Addicts.

"We've worked with Copeland before and after we expressed the moments and mood we wanted he hit the mark perfectly," says Bruce.

As for the four wise men imparting deep Zen knowledge as the spot closes, Bruce reveals that the creatives decided to step away from the dumb-ass guys that regularly inhabit the Dew spots.

"We wanted to utilize the four guys, who have seemed somewhat goofy in the earlier spots, as imparting deep wisdom for a change."

BBDO are set to work on a new Mountain Dew line soon to be released, a new cherry flavoured beverage called Code Red.

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