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LAUNDRY'S LABOR
LOST
After the previous task, Matchstick fretted that their conference room
denunciation of
Marcela's leadership would introduce a rupture in the close-knit
corporation. Meanwhile,
Sarah prepared for her first shot at the project manager position by
consulting
Carrie, her trusted ally. The two had one of the tightest relationships
in the
loft, and Sarah declared Carrie her second-in-command for the task to
come. Carrie was committed to backing up Sarah's quest for a victory, and
Sarah was determined to put the more experienced candidate's talent to good
use. Together, they reasoned, Primarius would be unstoppable.
In one of the most complex tasks thus far, the candidates were challenged to
create a marketing brand for a new laundry product. The tools for their
task were a mobile billboard attached to a truck, the streets of Manhattan,
and their own creativity. With the clock ticking, one corporation burned
hours on an unproductive brainstorming session. Their competitors bet
everything on a madcap concept with a wacky execution. And one project
manager let her corporation flounder helplessly without focus or direction.
The result was nothing less than dramatic: Matchstick pulled off an
unqualified triumph, while Primarius created one of the most atrocious
calamities ever seen. Surprised, disappointed, and frustrated,
Martha was determined to cleanse Primarius of its fatal stain. Yet no
one in the conference room expected Martha to employ a detergent so drastic
- except, perhaps, Martha herself.
LAUNDRY DAY
To receive their next task, the candidates traveled across Manhattan to the
offices of the Arnell Group, a highly regarded marketing and promotions
agency.
Martha Stewart, on her way to a meeting, joined the candidates via
speakerphone, and introduced Peter Arnell. As founder and Chief Creative
Officer of the company that bears his name, Arnell is an influential "brand
inventor" with a long list of prestigious clients, including Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia. The imaginative pair challenged the corporations to create
a live mobile billboard to help brand a new product - a stain removal pen
called Tide to Go.
With the help of an illustrator and designers, the candidates would create a
massive billboard to be mounted on the side of a custom 24-foot truck. A
construction crew would build a stage on the truck, where the candidates
would perform a live theatrical event on the streets of New York. The
corporation to create the most citywide buzz for the new product, as judged
by Arnell and his executives, would be declared the winners. The losers
would meet with Martha in the
conference room - where someone would be sent home.
SPIN CYCLE
Dawna, hungry to be the first candidate to put two wins on the board,
took over as Matchstick's project manager. Matchstick focused on the product
and came up with a concept built around "Tide to Go fights stains." The
centerpiece of their promotion would be a boxing ring on the mobile
billboard stage, where Tide to Go Joe (Ryan
in a superhero costume) would demonstrate the battle against stains in a
campy mêlée.
Sarah, Primarius' project manager, wanted to focus on creating a
spectacle at the expense of promoting the product. Precious hours were
wasted on "silent brainstorming" without resolution. Confused and adrift,
Howie and
Bethenny took initiative and located a prop store in town. As fate would
have it, they discovered a pair of giant boxing gloves. With coincidental
echoes of Matchstick's work, Howie pitched the idea of "fighting stains" to
Sarah, but backed by
Carrie, she KO'ed the concept immediately.
Jim, for his part, worked hard with Arnell Group staff to create an
attractive billboard for the truck. However, as day turned to night and
night turned to early morning, the corporation was still lacking a cohesive
and compelling concept for their promotion. At 4am Sarah cobbled together
the theme of "Tide to Go, On the Go;" a plan to use "movement" of dancers
and street performers to highlight the product's portability. With only a
few hours until show time, Primarius remained critically uninspired.
The next morning, Manhattan pedestrians were greeted by the sight of Tide to
Go Joe and his comical crusade against stains. Ryan and his fellow
candidates clearly enjoyed playing to the larger-than-life concept, and as
an energized crowd gathered, Matchstick performed live product
demonstrations complete with free samples. Across town, Primarius' promotion
provided comedy of a more unintentional nature. Lacking focus, purpose, and
planning, the candidates were left to dance and chant pell-mell on stage
alongside a random menagerie of hired performers. The haphazard cacophony
made many New Yorkers wince as they reluctantly accepted free samples from
the maniacal performers.
TRAVESTY TO GO
Back at the Arnell Group,
Martha Stewart was warmly greeted by Peter Arnell and his executives.
They made their judgment clear in no uncertain terms: one corporation was a
complete success while the other completely missed the point. After the
candidates entered the room, Arnell immediately praised Matchstick for their
strategic creativity and outstanding execution. Primarius elicited nothing
but withering comments from the marketing guru. He said their promotion was
one of the most "pathetic" attempts he had ever seen, and went so far as to
declare it "damaging" to the product's brand. Matchstick was declared the
clear winner.
Matchstick earned a priceless reward for their exemplary efforts on the
task: a breakfast with Martha at her Bedford estate. After cooking the feast
herself, Martha greeted the candidates at the door and gave them a tour of
her expansive and immaculate grounds. As they broke bread together, the
mogul and the candidates were treated with a visit from Martha's neighbor
Peter Arnell, who again praised Matchstick for their successful product
launch. The merry crew enjoyed the delectable vittles, and Peter and Martha
held the candidates spellbound with an informal discussion about business,
creativity, and the power of branding. Emboldened by the intimate encounter,
Matchstick's unity grew stronger than ever.
PRIMARIUS' DIRTY LAUNDRY
In the conference room,
Martha Stewart underlined the magnitude of Primarius' defeat: "You got
killed by Matchstick."
Sarah took responsibility for allowing the brainstorm session to go on
too long, but Martha and her associates suspected other missteps were at
play.
Charles lamented the amateur nature of the promotion, while Martha
bemoaned the corporation's reluctance to run with
Howie's "fight stains" concept - especially considering Matchstick's
success with a similar theme. The candidates struggled to displace blame -
first on Sarah's leadership, then on
Bethenny's negativity, then on
Carrie's lack of contribution. As discussion dissolved into a fractured
debate, Martha condemned the corporation's failure of time management,
strategy, leadership, and ideas. This utter defeat, she proclaimed, was the
worst thus far. Dissatisfied, Martha took charge of the proceedings and
ordered all the candidates to wait in the lobby. When they returned, Martha
asked Sarah which candidate performed the best. When the project manager
cited
Jim, Martha unfalteringly sent him back to the safety of the loft. With
the grim mood suddenly several shades more desperate, Sarah pegged Howie as
the weakest candidate in the room. Bethenny poked a hole in the argument,
claiming that Sarah's accusations were desperate lies. Howie indicted Sarah
and Carrie as most deserving of dismissal, and the executives became very
curious to know what exactly Carrie did for this task. She defended her
contributions as task accountant, but candidate and executive alike laughed
off the responsibility as a meager one. Martha then called Carrie out on her
performance as Sarah's right-hand candidate on a task that was an utter
debacle.
Martha sized up the four candidates as failures in the midst of a very
important job interview. She gave Howie a second chance for his notable
efforts in past weeks, and praised Bethenny for her boundless energies, even
in the face of disaster. Turning to Sarah, Martha criticized the project
manager for neglecting to provide her corporation with any aspect of
leadership. Just as problematic, Martha confessed she didn't know what
Carrie did during the task and classified her attempts to assist Sarah as
futile at best. In the face of such staggering ineptitude, Martha made a
stunning decision. "Sarah, Carrie, neither of you fit in." Primarius'
massive catastrophe required a solution of equal magnitude, and by Martha's
swift decree, both Sarah and Carrie were dismissed.
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