The story behind that bizarre Bentley ASMR video

A social media video promoting the Bentley Mulsanne has inspired countless parodies online, marking a viral moment for the Russian car dealership behind the quirky clip.

The video, originally published in July 2023, utilises popular YouTube trend ASMR – otherwise known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response – to highlight the various features of the British marque's luxury limousine.

RELATED: The Queen's Bentley Mulsanne sells for a hefty price

In the short clip, Russian model Alla Bruletova touches and interacts with the Mulsanne, tapping her nails on the badge, using the indicators, starting the engine and repeatedly whispering "Bentley".

The video has since received 5.5 million views on YouTube, 3.6 million views on TikTok, and an additional 914,000 views on Instagram.

This unique marketing approach has inspired countless parody videos, including one from Australian children's band The Wiggles, who used the format to jokingly showcase their iconic Big Red Car.

However, although the video features a Bentley vehicle, the car maker had no official involvement in its creation.

Rather, the video is the work of a Russian luxury car dealership Jetcar, which uses social media to promote the litany of luxury vehicles in its Moscow showroom.

The cars range from rare collector's items to unusual electric vehicles, with the dealership currently spruiking everything from a Ferrari California, to an Aston Martin Vanquish and Chevrolet Camaro, to an Avatr 11 – an electric SUV produced by Chinese state-owned manufacturer Changan Automobile, in partnership with battery supplier CATL, and telecommunications company Huawei.

The dealership takes an unconventional approach to selling its cars, regularly employing glamorous models to pose in its models while capturing some bizarre stunts on camera.

In one clip, a model is shown taping a child seat to the roof of a Lamborghini, while another shows a model picking her nose in the back seat of a Range Rover.

Jetcar is the brainchild of Russian YouTuber and entrepreneur Yury Pashchenko, who rose to prominence by destroying expensive supercars on YouTube.

These days, he prefers conducting so-called "durability tests" on mass-market cars from the likes of Skoda, Volkswagen and Peugeot. The cars used in the clips appear to be pre-damaged and partially disassembled for dramatic effect.

The star of the video, who has been nicknamed 'Bentley girl', is Alla Bruletova – a 24-year-old former competitive cheerleader from Russia who now works as a model.

Bruletova boasts nearly two million followers on Instagram and has been featured in numerous videos on Jetcar's social media pages, many of them using the same ASMR format.

Bruletova has even poked fun at her own controversial pronunciation of 'Bentley' – which sounds more like 'Bentleyah' – in follow-up videos showing her studying at a fake ASMR school.

According to her Instagram page, Bruletova spends her time travelling the world and driving expensive cars – often while using her mobile phone behind the wheel (don't try that part at home).

The Mulsanne is not available to buy new, after Bentley discontinued production of the model in 2020. However, it was priced from more than AUD$400,000 when purchased new.

The viral video appears to have achieved its target, with the Mulsanne no longer listed for sale on Jetcar's website.

The Mulsanne was powered by a 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 producing 377kW and 1020Nm. That made it capable of sprinting from 0–100km/h in 5.3 seconds.

Queen Elizabeth II previously owned a deep green Bentley Mulsanne that last sold in 2021 for £179,850, or roughly AUD$345,000.

Drive has contacted Bentley for comment and will update this article when it receives a response.