Alright, here’s the summary of last week’s Office episode: Local Ad. I know it’s a little late but once you see that I transcribed Darryl’s Dunder Mifflin jingle and provided a link for the branch’s ad (Michael’s director’s cut), I’m sure I’ll be forgiven.
Ok, so our Office pals are in the Conference Room brainstorming about what their local ad will contain: dancing babies? All DM branches will be running personalized ads in their cities and Michael is very excited, and shockingly, so is everyone else. HO is sending up actual professionals to help out.
Andy decides to sing his favourite ad ever: “Gimme a break, Gimme a break, break me off a piece of that…oops” he blanks out. Applesauce? Chrysler car? Football cream? Jim of course, is not helping.
Pam is taking a computer animation class and will help out with the ad too…so cute, she’s really blooming…all talented and stuff!
In come the pros, and Michael is full of ideas: fast cuts, young, you know, Michael stuff or as he puts it: MTV on crack.
He introduces the pros around: Andy, the NARD dog, gives great back massages, and cue a rare fart joke as Andy mentions he also does aromatherapy *rolled my eyes on that one* Stanley provides the Urban vibe…Phyllis is Mrs. Butterworth…the accountants are like the 3 bears, Poppa (Kevin), Mama (Oscar), Baby (Angela).
Jim think the ad is a great idea, because when he says he works at Dunder Mifflin, people think he sells mufflers, mittens or muffins, and as those sound better anyways, he lets it slide.
Dwight has entered full on depression by becoming obsessed with Second Life. He signed up a while ago, because since his life was so great, he literally wanted a second one. In it he is Dwight and a paper salesman, everything is the same, oh! except he can fly!
Here’s Michael’s commercial proposal: little girl, in a field holding a flower. Zoom out, she’s in an oasis in a desert. Zoom out again and the desert is just a sandbox in the world’s largest resort hotel, zoom out again and the hotel is actually a playground in the world’s largest prison and then… nope the ad guys stop him and show him their idea, which is some dude in a big box paper store running around trying to find some help and unable to find any…and then he goes to Dunder Mifflin and then end on a shot of the branch waving. And apparently, this is the only part the branch itself has a say in: the branch can be waving or, ummm, clapping? Michael is disappointed.
Ah Andy decides to let Dwight be his confidant with regards to his relationship with Angela. He’s stuck at the necking phase, literally necking: neck rubbing…hmmm. He wants to know how to move on to first base. Dwight can’t discuss it due to the danger of being overheard…the solution? CODE WORDS! Dwight proposes this: Angela will be code for Angela, and Dwight code for Andy…oh Dwight!
To corporate! Ryan has a call from Eddie Murphy, nope, just Michael, doing quite the awesome impression of Donkey. Michael has a problem with the ad…they locked him in a creative box. Ryan says that’s good as it’s not Michael’s job to be creative, just because one can cook does not mean one should open a restaurant. Michael CAN cook and he IS opening a restaurant, “Michael’s Cereal Shack”…brilliant. Cut to talking head, it’s Michael childhood story time: When he was 5, he imagined there was such a thing as a unicorn, before he knew or saw there was such a thing…imagine, he drew a horse that could fly and had a spike in its head…and he was 5! He couldn’t even talk yet!
Well, Michael tells the pros that he can’t film that commercial and tells them to leave. He calls up David Wallace and somehow convinces him that he can film one and if corporate doesn’t like it, they can send the pros back and they will film the original commercial, on his dime. Although Wallace affirms: “This is weird” he lets Michael run with it. “And thus Michael Scott sealed his own destiny…in a good way.”
Back to conference room…Michael tells the troops just how creative they are, in fact “you are so much more creative than the other morons you work with”…to which Jim responds: “Who are you talking to?”
In a talking heads: Kev lets us know that he’s quite familiar with commercials…his nickname in high school was Kool-Aid Man. Oscar always wanted to be an actor in commercials, then he realized he had a brain. Meredith is excited, she’s not used to making videos with so many people around…ew.
So, Michael delegates. They have scripts to write, soundtracks to compose! Kelly: Make-up! Oscar: Wardrobe design of course! And Phyllis gets to search the town for a celebrity to appear in the ad. She’s on it! Sue Grafton is signing books at the mall! Go get her Mrs. Butterworth!
Andy wonders whether they should let Sue Grafton in the commercial…is she even hot? Creed says she’s “super hot”. Andy thinks they should just use Angela and make her pretend to be Sue Grafton. Absolutely not! Angela hates the mystery genre…she hates being titillated.
Dwight is still playing second life…pretty sad.
Darryl has gotten out the synthesizer and is composing music with the help of Kelly, Creed, Kevin, and Andy:
“Out of paper, out of stock,
There’s friendly faces around the block
Break loose from the chains,
That are causing you pain
Call Michael and
Call Indian Kelly for your business paper needs
Dunder Mifflin
The people person’s paper people…
Dunder Mifflin
The people person’s paper people…
Michael doesn’t like it…he wanted a rap…
Andy has an update for Dwight on operation “Fallen Angel”.
Jim is still feeling bad for Dwight so decides to go see Pam about it. She’s busy animating. Too bad, he needs to show Pam Dwight’s second life…in it Dwight has created Second Second Life, for people who want to be further removed from reality.
Then follows what may go down as one of the weirdest scenes in Office history. Pam discovers Jim’s Second Life character, which he spent a lot of time designing as it looks quite like him, but he’s a sport’s writer in Philly, and plays guitar. Pam is kind of mocking him, and Jim is genuinely embarrassed, so much so he’s fidgeting and fingering his tie. It’s odd. It made me wonder if he used Second Life previously to try escaping from his reality of not being with Pam…it was weird.
Back to Darryl the composer, same song, different tune…Nope, Michael is not having it. It’s not “his(Michael’s)” music…Darryl agrees it better than him, it’s them. Darryl walks off.
Outside to film Andy…who is in full running gear (minus nipple protectors mind you). And in comes a weeping Phyllis (which is always funny). She was in line for the book signing and asked Sue Grafton to come, she refused. But Phyllis wasn’t supposed to take no for an answer so she kept trying…until they threw her out of the store in front of all of her friends. Aww…poor Phyllis! What a blow to the commercial.
Jim tells Pam not to work too hard on the animation, as it’s probably already good enough for Michael. Pam insists that it isn’t good enough for her yet. Jim offers to stay late with her and is rebuffed. Unfortunately, Pam is Jim’s ride and now he has to go home with Meredith who calls to him from the van to come now! and to “piss or get off the pot”. Delightful!
So Pam fell asleep at work…but not to worry! Jim brought her breakfast, which is cute except Creed stole her potatoes. Pam worked until 2 am then had to decide whether to stay and watch Michael edit and watch Dwight watch Michael edit or to go home and probably fall asleep at the wheel…she fell asleep deciding.
Andy finally gets to make out with Angela and he tells Dwight….they were getting busy and Angela closed her eyes and said “Oh D! Oh D!” Now Andy took this to be short for Andy, but we know, as well as Dwight, that all of this just proves how much she misses Dwight. Yay!
So Michael is sending the ad to corporate and is now awaiting their response. He tells Pam to clear his phone lines, which she pretends to do by making bleep bloop noises until he is satisfied. Well, ten days pass and we find out corporate refused his ad so now he is at Poor Richard’s to watch the “brain dead” version. “Welcome to corporate crapfest”! And there they are waving in all their glory!
But fear not, Jim brought the ad they made and asks the barman to play it. It is friggin’ awesome! Watch it here as I can’t describe it well enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMu30GygZak
It’s a shockingly great ad, and everyone is so proud of their cameos! And Pam’s animation is great…and Jim is so proud of her. Jim is so proud in fact, he brags to the barman, who then proceeds to ask Pam if she’s ever been on a motorcycle…Jim responds by putting his arm around her.
Last shot is Andy trying to figure out that damn jingle “Claude Van Damme?” “Hair for Men?” “Nutrasweet” Wait! It has to rhyme with piece…”Fancy Feast”…“nailed it!!”
That's All Folks!
Natascia
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