Nando's ad: Stephen Fry, TIME weigh in

Cape Town - The new Nando's ad entitled "Last Dictator Standing" has proven a huge viral hit for the fast food company after the new campaign was launched on Friday.

The cheeky ad, which sees a lookalike Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe reminiscing about happier days with fallen leaders like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gadaffi, and former apartheid leader PW Botha, was directed by Dean Blumberg and has been viewed over 370 000 times on Youtube since going live last week.

The viral video earned itself a mention on the TIME magazine's Newsfeed online feature.

An extended version of the ad, featuring a lookalike Chairman Mao, was also released. Acclaimed actor and writer Stephen Fry also tweeted a link to the video to his nearly 3.5 million followers, adding: "Well, that's one way to sell Nandos" [sic].

Irreverant

The original Channel24 article introducing the new ad was also recommended by over 1 500 readers to their Facebook account. We then asked our readers if the popularity of the advert also affected their choice when deciding where to buy their next chicken meal from.

We polled our readers on Channel24.co.za and asked: "The latest Nando's ad is out and it's as irreverant as ever. But is the ad effective in persuading you to buy their chicken?"

A slim 50% majority voted "Absolutely! I love the brand" - but 43% of those polled said that the ad did not particularly affect their buying decisions and that they simply enjoyed the ad as entertainment.

Three percent said they did not like Nando's food or ads while 4% said that they did not even realise that the advert was meant to sell chicken.

Readers also shared their thoughts on the ad on Channel24's Facebook page. Some declared their allegiance to the brand, like Leoni Watson who wrote, "I've always loved their ads and I'll always love their chicken!"

Others were less enthusiastic about the product. "If only their chicken was as good as their adverts," tweeted US-born, SA-based reader @StressKitten.

"I'm not sure if it persuades me to buy their chicken but it's vrek funny!" said Melanie-ann Diesel on Facebook.

Carmia Supernerd Korsten shared: "I've only had Nando's about twice in my life, but I LOVE their ads!"

The political leanings of this and previous Nando's campaigns was not lost on Sello ParlaMamolele, who wrote: "dey r a political party,hiding under a chicken's wing.lol,cool add tho [sic]"

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Watch the extended 60-second clip for "Last Dictator Standing" below: