Video of Bruce Lee Playing 2 vs 1 Table Tennis Is Actually A Nokia Ad

A video of one man playing table tennis against two opponents while using nunchakus is going viral online with the claim that it shows never-seen-before footage of martial arts cult figure Bruce Lee.

The video also claims that Lee is defeating two professional table tennis players alone with his nunchakus. BOOM found that the video is actually a Nokia commercial from 2008 and the man is a stunt double playing Lee.

The Hong Kong and American action hero achieved global stardom with hits such as Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon in the 70s and remains an enduring cult figure for martial arts enthusiasts. Lee died at the young age of 32 from a cerebral edema.

The video is being shared with the caption, "Bruce Lee 2v1 against professional table tennis players with Nunchakus"

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The video is also circulating on Facebook.

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FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the video was shot as part of a Nokia commercial when the cellular company's limited edition Bruce Lee phone had been released. Nokia released a new version of their N96 phone as a tribute to Bruce Lee on his 35th death anniversary in 2008.

A keyword search on Google led us to a LinkedIn post that carried the same video. The caption also mentioned that the video was an ad for Nokia.

Using this information, we looked for more details on the video and found a page by Design and Art Direction (D&AD), an organisation supporting and awarding excellence in design and advertising. The page explained how the advertising agency JWT (Now Wunderman Thompson), decided to pitch this ad to their client Nokia as a tribute to Bruce Lee on the 35th anniversary of his death.

In an interview with Agency.Asia magazine, the Chief Creative Officer of the campaign, Polly Chu spoke about how the team went out of their way to make the footage "look like a never-seen-before secret footage of Bruce Lee" and how the director studied Bruce Lee in detail to find the "right talent," a statement that appears to hint towards the fact that a body double was used in the advertisement.