EPISODE SIX

WALL BALL

With Michael, Stephanie and Bren in the boardroom, the rest of Magna (Book Smarts) debated the topic of who might return - and what it would mean for the team. Erin and Alex thought that Stephanie's negative attitude would get her fired and that the team would be better for it. But when Stephanie and Bren walked in, the team knew that Michael was gone. Stephanie took center stage and addressed the rest of her team. Near tears, she said that she didn't take anything the others had said in the boardroom personally. In an interview, Stephanie admitted that she needed to learn to express her concern in a more positive way. The team gathered around a teary Stephanie for a big group hug.

The following day, the teams met Trump and two top Sony PlayStation executives. For their next task, the teams would create an ad for a new PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game called Gran Turismo 4, a racing game that's part of the PS2's biggest franchise. But requirements for the ads were unique. Each team would get a bare twenty-foot wall in Harlem and use graffiti art to convey their message. The teams would be charged with conceiving the ad and choosing their own graffiti artist to lead the painting effort. The final ad would be judged by the PlayStation executives with input from a focus group. George and Jill Cremer, who was replacing Carolyn on the task, would observe for The Donald. As always, Trump promised that losers would be brought back into the boardroom where someone would be fired.

As Project Manager for Net Worth (Street Smarts), Tara wanted to make sure that their ad did not send a negative message. More than that, Tara wanted to tie the ad to the community. She even saw Harlem as a metaphor for the game - a transition from the mean streets to a revitalized city. Concerned, John asked if they were making an ad for a video game or a social statement. Audrey, who along with John were the only two Net Worth members who had played the Gran Turismo games, said that there were many locations in the game where a player could drive - including the desert, the ocean and city streets. Tara repeated that she wanted to make sure nothing in the ad upset the residents of Harlem. In an interview, Audrey said the game was about winning races and souping up your car with money earned from victories, not about urban renewal. When Net Worth met with the two PlayStation executives, Tara promised the execs that she was part of the hip and urban demographic that they wanted to target. In an interview, Tara laughed as she said she was certainly more on the pulse of hip and urban than Magna was. Tara admitted that she would lose a lot of street credibility if she lost this task.

As Project Manager for Magna, Alex said he played lots of video games - he did go to college after all. Alex split his team up into two groups. Bren and Stephanie met with the PlayStation execs while Alex, Erin and Kendra met with different graffiti artists. The trio finally picked an artist named Lady Pink. By contrast, the entire Net Worth team met with the group of graffiti artists. John said that an artist named Ernie had the three qualities they were looking for: he had played the Gran Turismo series, he had great art samples and he could work quickly. Tara said her vision for the ad was "the mean streets of New York" with buildings that had scowling faces on them.

Alex, Erin, Kendra and Lady Pink arrived at their canvas - a wall in Harlem. Alex described his vision of the ad and said he saw a skyline of New York with a car in the air. The three also began to paint vines at the bottom of the wall. When Stephanie and Bren arrived from their meeting with the PlayStation executives, they said that the ad needed to be urban and hip. Neither Bren nor Stephanie saw how vines were urban or hip. Everyone on the team started to throw out ideas - but nothing seemed to be right. Stephanie said that the team didn't have a clear direction and that Alex needed to make a decision because time was running out.

Net Worth put on smocks, rolled up their sleeves and put down a coat of white paint so that their artist could start with a clean slate. When Jill visited the group, she was impressed with their progress. But when Tara pitched her vision for the ad as a reflection of the revitalization of Harlem, Jill questioned the direction and asked if that was what Sony was looking for. Tara said she simply wanted to show respect for the neighborhood. In an interview, Craig said that Tara wanted the "mean streets" - building with scowls on them - to be a prominent part of the ad, but that there were no "mean streets" in the video game. There were just streets. Craig called this a selfish perspective and said it wasn't taking into account what the PlayStation executives wanted.

As Net Worth painted well into the wee hours, Tara asked Craig to supervise. But soon after, Craig and Audrey clashed. Audrey felt Craig was talking down to her and she challenged Craig's authority. She told him that the artist, Ernie, was in charge of the painting. And in front of the rest of the team, Audrey told Craig to stop bossing her around. Craig went the Tara and threatened to remove Audrey from painting duty entirely. Tara had a talk with Audrey and smoothed things out. But in an interview, Tara said that Audrey had the most conflict with people on the team. She said that when you've fought with almost every person on the team, that says something about you.

Magna also worked late into the night, but Alex confessed that the team still didn't a have a clear idea of what their ad was going to be. He readily admitted that his team was neither hip nor urban. So, Alex found a few people that were. He walked across the street and talked with a couple of guys hanging out and asked if they would take a look at the ad. The guys agreed and gave suggestions of what they would want to see in an ad for Gran Turismo - and Alex got a crash course in mad props and bling bling. Alex went back to the rest of his team to report what he'd learned. Alex said that one guy wanted to see money in the ad and Bren suggested a fist full of cash with a ring that said "PS2". Alex loved the image and started to incorporate the new ideas. Alex said he felt revitalized and declared that there was no way his team could lose.

The next day, Trump made a surprise visit to Harlem and Net Worth. Trump surveyed their work and told the candidates and their artist that they'd all done a very good job. Trump got back into his limo and went by Magna's wall. Only this time, Trump drove by, glanced at the graffiti ad in progress and kept driving. Alex said that he took the fact that Trump didn't stop as a sign that he didn't think Magna was worth his time. Alex said that only made him want to prove even more that his team was not a bunch of losers.

After all of the hard work, it was judgment day. The PlayStation execs showed up to Net Worth's newly transformed wall - and the newest ad for Gran Turismo 4. Tara explained the team's ad to the executives. In an interview, Chris said that Tara took all the credit. Chris also felt that Tara was more concerned with having a piece of art rather than an advertisement that would get people to buy a video game. Next, the team watched as a focus group discussed the ad, out of earshot. The execs said good-bye and headed off to Magna's wall. Alex described Magna's ad to the execs. Then, the candidates could only look on as the members of the focus group told the PlayStation executives exactly what they thought of the creation.

Hours later, out of smocks and back in business attire, both teams waited outside of the boardroom while the PlayStation execs shared their verdict with Trump. When the execs left, the candidates took their places in the boardroom with Donald, George and Jill. Since the focus group played such an important role in determining the winner, Trump showed videotaped interviews with those who had commented on the ads. When it came to Magna's ad, the individuals said the ad did a good job representing the different racing areas and the money that's part of the game. A mother commented that she liked seeing the game's rating in the ad so she knew the game wouldn't be offensive. When it came to Net Worth's masterpiece, the members of the focus group didn't recognize the mural as an ad for the game. Someone said the ad did not make them want to go get the game. To add insult to injury, another person said that the wall didn't represent the real Harlem. Trump said the execs told him that Net Worth's ad simply didn't sell the game. The PlayStation executives felt strongly that Magna had the better ad and Trump declared Magna the winner! For their reward, the team would get portraits of themselves taken by Patrick Demarchelier, a famous photographer who had done covers of many well-known magazines and was Harper's Bazaar magazine's premier photographer. Trump told Net Worth that he would see them back in the boardroom where someone would be fired.

When the members of Magna arrived at Patrick Demarchelier's studio, Trump showed up and posed with them. Alex said the reward was a taste of the Trump lifestyle and he liked it. And the finished portraits of each Magna member went up onto the walls of the suite. Things weren't quite so much fun for Net Worth. As Tara tried to understand where she went wrong, she said that she didn't know that there were multiple locations in the game where players could race. Audrey and John said they knew that there were. Tara accused both of neglecting to tell her that. In an interview, Tara claimed that there were people on her team who purposely withheld information so that others would fail.