“The Office” Recap: Local Ad

At the start of this week’s episode, the office is abuzz — and it’s not just because Sue Grafton is in town for a book signing. An ad agency is coming to the Scranton branch to film a commercial promoting Dunder Mifflin Infinity. Michael is excited because he’s going to get a chance to show off the creativity that allowed him to imagine a unicorn as a 5-year-old, before he even knew what one was or could even speak. Jim is psyched because now when people hear he works at Dunder Mifflin, they might finally stop thinking he sells mufflers or muffins or mittens — all of which he admits are more exciting than paper. The excitement level drops however, when the ad people in charge of shooting the commercial inform Michael that a company-wide version of the commercial has been filmed, and that only the final five seconds of the spot will be customized by the Scranton branch.

Michael, of course, is downtrodden, but not nearly as much as Dwight, who’s still struggling with life post-Angela — so much so that he’s spending most of his time leading his Second Life. Second Life is “a multi-user virtual environment. It doesn’t have points or scores. It doesn’t have winners or losers.” And most importantly for Dwight, unlike his real life, it doesn’t have Andy sharing the “hot but a little weird” details of his dates with Angela, during which a lot of “necking” has been going on — literally, it turns out. Who would have guessed that Angela was into neck-on-neck action?

Michael seals his fate — in a good way, he insists — by sending the professionals from the ad agency home so he can shoot his own commercial armed only with the creativity in the office. The plan is to send his version to the corporate office for approval, and if they don’t like it he’ll go with the corporate version. He’s staking his entire reputation on the project — so, really, what does he have to lose? He begins by assigning tasks to his employees. Kelly will be in charge of makeup, Oscar will design costumes (obviously) and Phyllis will try to find a celebrity to appear in the ad. The closest thing she can find is mystery author Grafton, which is OK because Creed insists that Grafton is “crazy hot.” (You can decide for yourself by going here.) The mission does not go well, however, and Phyllis returns crying after getting thrown out of the bookstore for not taking no for an answer. Luckily Kevin is around to dry her tears — with a piece of masking tape.

Dwight continues to lead his Second Life, while his character, in turn, begins leading a Second Second Life. Meanwhile, Andy won’t let up with the lurid details of his escapades with Angela, and Dwight (the real one) is almost at his breaking point — that is, until Andy reveals that, in the middle of their most recent makeout session, Angela called him “D.” As in An-dy, he assumes. Dwight, of course, knows the real reason and realizes that Angela is not over him yet. So there’s still hope after all.

Predictably, Michael’s commercial is rejected, and as everyone gathers at Poor Richard’s for the premiere of the corporate commercial, he’s still bitter. After the real commercial airs, Jim persuades the bartender to play Michael’s version, which we have to admit is superior — if only for the scene when Dwight arrives on Phyllis’ doorstep and hands her a piece of paper that reads, “You have a son. And it’s me.” Truly Michael Scott is the World’s Most Creative Boss.

Here’s the rest:

Mike says

Best Quote: “I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it at all … and it’s terrible.” — Michael’s critique of Darryl’s Dunder Mifflin jingle

Best Moment: Andy singing the Kit Kat song but forgetting what product it advertises. Break me off a piece of that … football cream? Poison gas? Claude Van Damme? Fancy Feast!

Employee of the Week: Meredith. One week she’s seducing Jim with her pelvic cast, the next she’s yelling at him to “piss or get off the pot.” That’s versatility. She performed quite well this week in limited duty, despite the fact that she’s “not used to doing videos with so many people around.”

Ryan says

Best Quote: “I find the mystery genre disgusting. I hate being titillated.” — Angela

Best Moment: Kevin revealing that his nickname in high school was Kool Aid Man. And then he breaks into the Kool Aid Man face. Oh yeah!

Employee of the Week: Dwight Shelford. He’s Dwight Schrute’s alter ego in Second Life. Dwight’s life is so awesome, he felt he needed a Second Life nearly identical to his first life. Dwight Shelford is also a paper salesman, but he can fly. Dwight Shelford has created a character in Second Second Life, allowing Dwight Schrute to become even more removed from reality.

johnnysweeptheleg says

Best Quote: “Oh, it has losers.” — Jim’s response to Dwight, who enjoys playing Second Life because it doesn’t have winners or losers.

Best Moment: Jim showing Pam how wrapped up Dwight is in Second Life, only for Pam to turn it around on Jim when she sees the time Jim put into his own avatar (Philly Jim!). Me thinks he doth protest too much.

Employee of the Week: Kevin. His Kool Aid Man face produced one of the biggest laughs. Not to mention, it’s funny that this is why he knows what it’s like to be in a commercial. The other wonderful Kevin moment is when Michael tells someone to give Phyllis a tissue, so Kevin pulls off a piece of masking tape and offers it up. It’s only a matter of time before Creed joins Kevin’s band, and all of Scranton bows at their feet.

2 Comments

  1. What a review!
    I’ll way in with Ryan that Angela’s comment was one of the funniest of the bunch. My most favorite was the “Oh D..OH D!” moment with Andy and Dwight! I couldn’t stop laughing. There’s a glimmer back in heart broken Dwight’s eye again 🙂

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