The Apprentice 2, Episode 3: The Brush-Off

Just like in every episode of The Apprentice, we begin with the candidates wondering who will survive the boardroom. Lil Stacy tells Mosaic about how Bradford gave up his exemption. Everyone is stunned. Pamela says, “It’s like a stroke of crazy non-genius!” and I am so amused that I rewind it and watch her say that again. Hee! Andy says he can’t believe Bradford would give up his advantage like that. The suspense is over for them, as Ivana, Stacie, and Jennifer C. return. Maria says, “No freakin’ way!” Sandy says she’s disappointed that Bradford is gone, but it makes her realize, “It’s do or die.”

Lil Stacy calls a team meeting to clear up any unresolved issues. Stacie says that it was unfair for Ivana to take her into the boardroom because she performed really well at the ice cream task. Maria tells her that the women are still reacting to her freak-out with the Magic 8-Ball at Mattel in the first challenge. Stacie says that it was a moment of weakness and that she reacted badly to the stress. Lil Stacy says that if she’s unable to handle herself under pressure, that’s a real concern. In an interview, Stacie says that she realizes she has to prove herself to the rest of the team, but that it won’t be easy because at this point, they’re enemies. Maria tells her that they can’t have another outburst like that, then adds that the question is whether or not everyone will be able to give Stacie another chance. I’m going to go ahead and predict no. I know, I’m going out on a limb here.

The Trump phone rings the next morning, and I notice for the first time that it is on its own shiny gold pedestal. That is excellent. The candidates meet Trump in the lobby of Trump tower, and once again, the trumpets sound as The Donald, along with George, Carolyn, and two other people, makes his way into the lobby. I love it. Trump tells them that they’re in the big lobby of big Trump Tower because he likes to think big. And for their next task, he’ll need them to think big as well. He introduces the two executives, who are from Procter & Gamble. The teams are in charge of promoting a new flavor of Crest – Vanilla Mint. They’ll have a budget of $50,000 each. The two P&G executives will judge them on which campaign creates the most buzz.

Mosaic once again chooses their project manager at random, and this time Kevin is the leader. John thinks he’ll do a good job, and I must say, I’m impressed with the way he begins the task. He gathers the team together and tells them that they’ll spend half an hour brainstorming, then they’ll determine their strategy. See how that was direct and focused? Why on earth can’t Apex do something like that? The brainstorming begins, and the ideas that storm out of everyone’s heads are… a bit odd. John suggests coloring the river to match the toothpaste. Kelly thinks they should somehow dress up as teeth. Pamela is confident that if they figured out a way to scent the subways, it would be memorable. Raj says, “We can get a blimp in the air,” then adds, “Shh! That’s a good idea.” Raj has totally become my favorite candidate to watch. He’s funny, but that’s also a pretty solid idea.

Andy has a different idea. They’ll use $40,000 to buy an insurance policy for a million dollar sweepstakes. He goes on to explain that companies with sweepstakes drawings usually don’t actually give away that amount of money, but rather buy insurance to cover it in case they do. He explains it better than I can, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that’s how it works.

It’s time for the Trump Lesson of the Week. This week: “A Penny Saved is a Penny Saved.” Trump says that it’s vital in business to stay within your budget. I hope you’re all writing this down.

Over in Apex land, Jennifer C. and Elizabeth carefully review the dossier in the van on the way to an appointment. Elizabeth says that she’s the project manager because she used to work for P&G and thinks it would be frowned upon if she didn’t volunteer. Well, yeah, it would be, but it’s kind of sad that she volunteered because she feared repercussions if she didn’t, not because she wanted to use any advantage her experience might give her. She explains to the team that the way she likes to lead is to give everyone a task and let them get to it.

The plan is to arrange for a celebrity personal appearance, and they’re meeting with an agency to make that happen. Jennifer C. and Sandy think LL Cool J would be a good choice, but Elizabeth isn’t so sure. She says that P&G is a conservative company, so they want to make sure they pick someone with a squeaky clean reputation who hits the right demographics. In an interview, Jennifer complains that Elizabeth is a little too rigid and is holding them back. Sandy suggests Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Everyone thinks he’s a great choice. Men like him, women like, him, even Yankee fans think he’s an all right guy. His price for a half hour appearance is $20,000, which is more than they’d budgeted, but they think it would be worth it. Elizabeth asks if he’d be willing to kiss someone in the audience. He’s not, but he would brush his teeth. I would prefer not to brush my teeth in public, but for $20,000, I’d make an exception. Heck, I’d do it for the bargain price of $250. Call me, Crest.