Secret agents don't really need to fly helicopters blindfolded or induce ecstasy in sassy Ukrainian gymnasts by raising only their eyebrow. In fact, any Old Etonian who didn't leave his laptop on the train could probably run MI6.

The new Mentos ad has a wannabe super-spy put through his paces with fiendish trials such as not drinking a glass of water in the desert and, rather boldly, not crotch-watching a girl doing the old 'Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct' leg-crossing routine.

The final, impossible test is not chewing the Mentos mint. He fails, unlike this ad, which is made memorable by its juddering tonal clashes and oddly retro-sounding voiceover. And at the risk of labouring the point, that leg-crossing bit really is surprisingly graphic.

All she's missing is the line delivered in Stone's classic sneer: "What are you gonna do arrest me for smoking?" Nowadays they would.

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