Video of dancing Monitor Deloitte consultants 'goes viral'

A global pandemic, an economic crisis and a shortage of toilet paper have seen the start of 2020 give most of the world a sustained case of the blues – but fortunately some people can still see the bright side of life. A video featuring a cast of dancing Monitor Deloitte consultants is showing thousands how to shake it off.

While most people might have the preconception that consulting is dominated by business-oriented stuffed-shirts, Deloitte and its strategy consulting division Monitor Deloitte have revealed themselves to be a multi-talented bunch in recent years. In 2018, for example, Stefan Hansen rose to prominence in Deloitte’s German wing for recording pop-song ‘Deloitte is Calling’, celebrating his landing a role with the firm’s Dusseldorf office in style.

Now, staff in the Dutch arm of Monitor Deloitte – the firm’s strategy consulting division – have become the latest employees to get rhythm. As quarantine measures were brought in to combat the spread of Covid-19 in the Netherlands, a number of consultants conspired to provide the world with some light relief.

The video which the team produced has since been viewed thousands of times, prompting long-time Monitor Deloitte Partner Vincent Oomes to share it via LinkedIn, proudly declaring, “Our Monitor Deloitte Amsterdam dance video is going viral,” before conceding he is not in the film himself as he “never was a good dancer.”
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, panicked shoppers hoarded large amounts of toilet paper, fearful that they would miss out on one of life’s bare necessities (at least that was the concern, in retrospect toilet paper never really was at risk of running out). As a result, the three-minute mash-up centres largely on the suddenly precious commodity, and a message that sharing is caring.

Initially the short film features six Monitor Deloitte consultants coordinating a dance-party on Zoom to Barry White’s famous love-song ‘My First, My Last, My Everything’, jiving around a single roll of toilet paper. Suddenly, however, the tone shifts; away from the more self-centred desire to ensure an endless supply of quilted, four-ply sheets of tissue for one’s rear; toward a more community-minded approach.

Following a mock newscast imploring people to consume responsibly, Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ plays, and more dancing consultants gleefully hurl plentiful rolls of toilet paper at one another.

The dancers who appear paint a picture of a diverse and vibrant workplace culture – not to mention team members with a healthy willingness to look a little silly once in a while. A number of the consultants are also joined by flat-mates, partners and children during the video, while locations include everything from living rooms to back-gardens to roof-tops.

While it is hard to get an impression on what viewers have made of the video on streaming site Vimeo – where comments are disabled – hundreds of people have liked posts on LinkedIn and the video has been widely shared in the broader Dutch consulting scene.