The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, Episode 10: MVPs and LVPs, Corner Office and Mailroom Assignments

For this task, Martha gave the teams $65,000 to create an innovative launch display showroom to promote the new Buick Lucerne. As normal, the team that created the best launch display, as judged by the GM executives, would win. The losing team would meet up with Martha and her posse in the conference room. One of them would go home.

Matchstick:

Leslie, having no time for nonsense, decided she should be Project Manager. Ryan immediately came up with the tagline, “It’s that nice!” He envisioned setting up an exquisite five star restaurant, with four people sitting down for dinner with the car, complete with napkin on its lap, being the fifth guest. Leslie wasn’t in love with the idea; but Marcela was! Ryan admitted that his idea wasn’t genius, but it was clever.

Ryan hired a video production team to help create a commercial that would feature the car driving up to an elegant Italian restaurant. It would then go to the showroom floor, where you would see the car in the restaurant. The video would finish up with a dessert scene.

Meanwhile Leslie called a Public Relations specialist, and changed the tagline to, “Those who enjoy the luxury of choice, choose Buick Lucerne.” Of course this no longer had anything to do with the car driving up to the dinner table, so she also changed Ryan’s video. Oh yeah, Marcela loved Leslie’s new idea too!

Unfortunately when the executives visited the showroom, the tagline had mysteriously changed to “No valet necessary.” During the presentation Leslie rambled on incessantly, while Charles checked his watch for the time. When Ryan told us that the presentation was “uncomfortable” he was not just whistlin’ Dixie.

Matchstick Corner Office:

I think I will go there and sit a spell. I know I just write this thing, but there’s no reason for this room to stay empty. Maybe I will bring a bowl of chips and dip to snack on!

I actually liked Ryan’s idea. When he explained it, I had no problem envisioning subtle lighting, plush draping, a round romantic, quality dining table, candles, and elegant place settings. I could even see the video playing softly in the background. Unfortunately, what we saw was a far cry from any restaurant, much less diner, I had ever visited. The table was oversized, the platform, well, it looked like a platform. There was nothing at all elegant or luxurious in this presentation at all, except the car. Charles said it best when he said the display looked like a recreation room at a Y! From the little we were shown of the video, Leslie sounded more like she had created a late night TV ad for 1-800 – U Call Me.

I do give Ryan kudos for accepting responsibility for the concept. Unfortunately, what we were shown was not his concept, but Leslie’s ruination of his idea. Martha kept talking about “ownership” but I cannot see where he had much of a choice. He made the video reflecting his vision, which Leslie left on the editing room floor. As for the table in the display, you know, the one that looked like a bed? Well, as much as I hate to say it, only a man could have done that. Sadly, neither Marcela nor Leslie did anything to fix it.

Matchstick Mailroom:

As Leslie clearly changed everything Ryan was trying to accomplish, saying that she pulled the entire presentation “almost single handedly to make the concept work,” this room, too, shall remain empty. Leslie thought her team clearly hit this task “out of the park.” Instead, Martha clearly kicked her butt out of the job interview, and deservedly so.

As for Marcela, here’s my advice for her. SIT UP STRAIGHT! Sheesh, I have know idea what she did during this task, but for God’s sake, that gal has got to quit slouching!

Primarius:

Project Manager Dawna wanted to think big this time around. She was after her third Project Manager win. This team immediately liked the tagline “Driven by elegance.” Once again Dawna hired experts, who built their display. Once completed, she explained to the executives that the display should be an experience for the people that came into the showroom. Bethenny shared that they developed a display around the Lucerne that really showed the car. They created sleek, elegant design, with an art gallery wall, because people like to be a little bit chic.

I agree with both RNO’s recapper Betsy Wasser, and Performance Appraiser William Ingram, when they said this display was like walking into most automotive showrooms. It was clean, normal, and boring. Obviously it would be easy for the GM executives to put a kit together for their 27,000 dealerships; as I expect they already have the needed casts offs from previous displays. Even so, after Matchstick’s catastrophe, this showroom was a solid win.

Primarius Corner Office:

Dawna received her third win, and her fist visit to the Corner Office. She handled Bethenny and Jim’s bickering in a professional manner, tried to stagger her hired help efficiently, and managed to put out the fires that occasionally erupted. She realized that with a win, Jim and Bethenny would never be able to gang up on her. (I personally doubt that Bethenny would be less than honest in the conference room, but as you will find later in this article, I have been wrong before.) Dawna’s presentation to the executives looked professional, and she gave Bethenny props, to us, for a job well done. I will send her up a bit of toast and jam, with a pot of tea. For some reason, like this team’s tepid showroom, Dawna doesn’t inspire me.

Primarius Mailroom:

Jim can plop his butt on the mail-sorting stool. First off, he earned this for duping me last week. Call me a softie for wanting to momentarily believe in the nicer side of Jim. Golly gee, I think I am the ONLY person here at RNO that fell for his “heart felt” pep talk to Marcela. If I weren’t hanging out in Matchstick’s corner office, I would almost feel that I deserved to sit here with Jim. Naaa, that’s not gonna happen! His repeated self praise throughout this episode got under my skin. He is the mastermind of never shutting up. Insulting this interview process by repeatedly calling it a game should make Martha finally stand up and take notice. I can’t honestly call him the least valuable player, only the most grating and annoying one. I’m surprised that his 4 Season dinner mates didn’t go running from the restaurant when he said, “I hate you bastards, I’ll kill you all later.” During his stay in the mailroom, I will give him a bowl of alphabet soup to play with. Yeah, that’s a good idea! The letters floating on top will spell out “L-O-S-E-R!”

Oh, before I forget, “Marcela, sit up straight!” It’s a good thing.

The tally of current applicants so far?

Corner Office: Ryan (4), Bethenny (4), Jim (1), Dawna (1)

Mailroom: Ryan (1), Jim (4), Marcela (1), Bethenny (1/2), Dawna (2)

Sandy McFarland can be reached with questions, comments, or nominations to the mailroom or corner office at sadygal@yahoo.com.

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