| |
For Arby's, Bird Is the Word
Trump gathered the corporations in front of
a wall of Trump-themed products and told them, "Building a brand is a
wonderful thing. It's a hot brand and it's only getting hotter." But Trump
assigned his candidates to promote one of his other favorite brands: Arby's.
The famous roast beef sandwich chain is branching out with natural chicken
offerings, and Trump set the corporations to this
task: To write and score an original 30
second jingle for Arby's Chicken Naturals and present it to a live audience
of consumers.
Feeling the task call out to him,
Sean stepped up as project manager for
Synergy.
Bryce took control of Gold Rush and
promptly held a meeting to
clear the air of the conflicts brewing
between
Tarek and his corporate colleagues. Bryce's
mediation couldn't repair all of Gold Rush's issues, but they took to the
task with renewed vigor and focus.
Synergy Harmony vs. Gold Rush
Dissonance
Sean led an energetic Synergy to a meeting
with Arby's execs, to pick their brains and ensure all were on the same page
creatively. Synergy then hunkered down to collaborate on lyrics to promote
Arby's natural chicken products, cooking up phrases like "When I'm thinking
natural, I'm thinking Arby's." When it came time to produce the music with
session musicians, Sean became very hands on, which caused
Michael to fret, "I hope he doesn't take on
so much that something
slips through the cracks."
In contrast,
Bryce
delegated freely with Gold Rush. But with
Lenny claiming not to even know what a
jingle was and
Lee taking the task off to observe Yom
Kippur, the corporation was a little short-handed. Bryce put
Tarek in charge of musical production and
assigned lyrics to
Charmaine and
Leslie. Charmaine also had administrative
duties and set up a meeting with the Arby's execs. Unfortunately, no one on
Gold Rush understood Manhattan traffic and they showed up
25 minutes late. Making matters worse,
Bryce barely apologized to the impatient Arby's executives. In the end,
however, the corporation rallied together to create a solid jingle with an
old-time sound.
Truffles for Synergy, Troubles for
Gold Rush
Bryce was nervous just before the hammer
came down and Arby's executives picked Synergy's jingle as the winner.
For their reward, Synergy earned a
luxurious 6-course truffle meal at swanky
Alain Ducasse. White truffles (at $4,000 a pound!) would be flown in from
Alba, Italy especially for Synergy. It was,
Mr. Trump assured them, "without question
the most expensive meal you will ever have." Basking in the glow of
undeniable luxury, the corporation's mood was euphoric and flirtatious, with
Sean praising the women of Synergy ("The
ladies look wonderful and it just sort of enhances the whole experience")
and the women returning the favor (Allie
deemed Sean's accent "so sexy").
Meanwhile, Gold Rush was preparing for the boardroom where someone would
hear a mournful refrain from Mr. Trump's confident baritone: You're fired.
Bryce Jammed Up In Jingle Jumble
Just before the boardroom
Bryce implored Gold Rush to present a
united front and avoid backstabbing. By and
large, they did so, but the end result was
Mr. Trump and trusted associates
Bill and
Carolyn presenting a united front against
PM Bryce. When Trump probed
Charmaine's lyrical shortcomings, Bryce
defended her saying he had approved the lyrics. Charmaine also set up the
meeting that Gold Rush was late to, which made Trump suggest, "Maybe they
were angry before they heard your song." Loyal to a fault, Bryce again
deflected criticism away from his collegues.
But the project manager sealed his fate when he brought do-little
Lenny and Jewish-holiday-observing
Lee back for the final boardroom. Trump was
incredulous: "Charmaine and
Tarek were responsible for the lyrics and
the music—why didn't you bring them back?"
Bryce tried to defend Tarek and Charmaine
as hardworking contributors, but Carolyn shut him down: "[They] might have
worked hard, but they missed the mark." Trump put it bluntly, "You lost to
better music and better lyrics." And moments later, it was all over, when
Trump said, "Bryce,
you're fired."
|
|