( CNN ) -- Creating a viral ad is n't as easy as grilling spicy chicken , but restaurant chain Nando 's seems to have found the recipe for success . The South African group , which has hundreds of branches in some 30 countries , hit the headlines again in late November with an advert portraying Zimbabwe 's notorious president Robert Mugabe cavorting with five fellow dictators . The `` Last Standing Dictator '' ad uses look-alike actors to show Mugabe reminiscing merrier times with former iron-fist rulers that are now deceased , including Libya 's Moammar Gadhafi , Iraq 's Saddam Hussein and Uganda 's Idi Amin . To the nostalgic sounds of `` Those Were the Days '' by Mary Hopkin , Mugabe remembers enjoying a water-fight with Gadhafi -- in which the Libyan former leader holds a trademark golden machine gun -- as well as re-enacting with Amin the famous romantic scene of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio 's from `` Titanic '' on the back of an army vehicle . The amusing advert captured the imagination of millions , says Quinton Cronje , managing director of Nando 's . `` It was bigger than we ever anticipated , '' he says . `` The whole thing of dictators over the year of 2011 was a global concept so it went really big -- bigger than any other ad in Africa has ever done virally . '' The advert might got a huge reaction but the response in Zimbabwe was n't so funny -- the restaurant chain had to pull the ad after staff in the country were threatened by Mugabe loyalists . Zimbabwe open for business , says finance minister . Nando 's , famous for its piri-piri chicken , has a long history of testing boundaries with its advertising campaigns , which are often inspired by recent news events . Its radical approach has become integral to the development of the brand , says Cronje . `` Chicken is a commodity and we sex chicken up by talking about the brand intrinsics and we have always been about having an advertising strategy that is cutting edge . We like to say what people are generally thinking , '' says Cronje . `` We like to pick things that are -- people use the word controversy -- I do n't say controversy , I 'd say things that generate healthy debate , '' he adds . Other adverts by the brand that created a stir include its campaign for the South Africa-held football World Cup in 2010 -- the company 's entire promotional activity for the landmark event dealt in a humorous way with misconceptions that foreigners might have of South Africa , such as overseas visitors believing that `` all South African men have more than one wife '' or that `` all African women walk around bare-breasted all the time . '' Bin Laden bread a hit for Malawi bakers . `` We were having an influx of foreigners visiting South Africa and we needed comment on it and we did it in a way that demonstrates the ignorance and the misconceptions that people have about our country , '' says Ahmed Tilly , executive creative director at Nando 's advertising agency . `` It touched South Africans because they 've traveled and they 've been asked the question , 'do you have electricity in Africa , are there animals roaming the streets in Africa . ' And we took that insight and basically made a campaign that was relevant to the World Cup , '' adds Tilly . Ivory Coast seeks chocolate fairness for farmers . While the brand has not shied away from dealing with heated issues such as race and gender stereotypes in its campaigns , Tilly says that there are still some subjects that the company will not go anywhere near in its adverts . `` We try to stay away from religion as far as possible , only because it is so sensitive and it is not a defendable topic , '' he says . Religion may be out of bounds for Nando 's but the recent death of North Korea 's leader Kim Jong Il sparked an immediate branding opportunity for the company . `` When we heard that Kim in North Korea had died we generated a viral commercial that we got up in less than one hour and it was really to say , 'North Korea , it was n't us . We are in to eradicating hunger rather than eradicating dictators , ' '' says Cronje . This was n't the first time the chain was quick enough to react in order to benefit from a major news event . And from the looks of it , it wo n't be the last . Tilly says that pushing boundaries is becoming more and more important in today 's highly-competitive advertising environment . `` I think all brands need to go there otherwise they are getting lost , '' he says .
Restaurant chain Nando 's is famous for testing boundaries with its advertising . Its campaigns deal with politics , race and gender stereotypes in an amusing way . 'Last Standing Dictator ' ad was taken off air after staff in Zimbabwe received threats .