Thursday, May 3, 2007
2006 Associated Press file
Stephen Voltz, left, and Fritz Grobe, both of Buckfield, create a geyser effect by mixing Diet Coke and Mentos mints last June 29 during a "Late Show with David Letterman" taping in New York.
When they performed on the Letterman show, they performed outdoors, in the street. At a recent appearance in Istanbul, Turkey, they performed indoors, in a nightclub covered with plastic.
One year after launching their online comedy video, Maine performers Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz have won a Webby Award for "The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments."
The Webby Film & Video Awards honor original film and video that premieres on the Internet. Winners were announced Monday night in New York. Grobe and Voltz won for the year's best viral video, the first year of the category.
The two, who originated their comedy routines at the Oddfellow Theater in Buckfield, have received international exposure for the video. They appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman," among other shows.
Grobe and Voltz produced their video for their Web site, EepyBird.com.
In an interview, Grobe said he hoped the award would lead to greater exposure and opportunity for their site.
"I think one of the things that winning a Webby helps us with is giving us credibility to a new group of people. It says to business leaders and people in the corporate world, 'These guys are for real.' That kind of validation is going to be really helpful," he said.
EepyBird, along with the other 2007 Webby winners -- including David Bowie for lifetime achievement and YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen -- will be honored June 4-5 at the 2007 Webby Awards gala in New York City, to be hosted by comedian Rob Corddry of Fox's new sitcom "The Winner," who is a former correspondent for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
"The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments" can be seen at www.EepyBird.com. It demonstrates what happens when Mentos mints are dropped into plastic bottles of Diet Coke. Fully choreographed, the resulting geysers of soda play out like spraying fountains.
Grobe and Voltz will perform their comedy routine at the awards on June 4, in or near the New World Stages theater on West 50th Street. Grobe doesn't know whether they will be able to perform in the theater itself, because of the mess created when the Diet Coke erupts into fountains, some as high as 25 feet.
They plan to set off 120 bottles of Diet Coke at the Webbys.
"The question is whether we can make a really big mess on their stage. We have to be in a ballroom or something next door," he said.
When they performed on the Letterman show, they performed outdoors, in the street. At a recent appearance in Istanbul, Turkey, they performed indoors, in a nightclub covered with plastic.
In addition to winning the inaugural Webby for Viral Video, EepyBird joined NBC and National Geographic as one of only three Webby Film & Video winners who also won a Webby People's Voice Award, determined by online voting.
The video received more than 10 million online views.
The Webby Awards recognize Internet excellence and honor Web sites, online film and video, interactive advertising and mobile Web sites.
Although he's been working with Diet Coke for the past year, Grobe said he has yet to develop a taste for the soft drink.
"I'm more of a regular Coke guy myself," he said.
Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
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