Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Recap / TheOfficeUSS4E5LocalAd

Go To

1When Dunder Mifflin hires an ad company to film a national commercial, the Scranton branch makes one of their own. When Andy brags to Dwight about his new relationship with Angela, Dwight retreats into VideoGame/SecondLife.
2
3Air Date: October 25, 2007
4
5!!Tropes
6
7* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After learning that [[Literature/KinseyMillhone Sue Grafton]] is at a nearby book signing, Michael tells Phyllis to recruit her for the commercial and to "not take no for an answer." Phyllis later comes back, in tears, saying that Grafton declined, and ultimately she was removed from the store in front of her friends because she kept asking. Michael then asks if she did get Grafton to be in the commercial.
8* DumbassHasAPoint: By the end of the episode, Michael is frustrated that his homemade ad for the Scranton branch wasn’t selected. When the employees (and audience) finally see his ad, it was arguably the better of the two, with a message focusing on how the world may be moving away from paper but it still has an important role in many people’s lives.
9* {{Foreshadowing}}: During the commercial, Dwight's character holds up a sign to Phyllis. It says "You have a son, and it's me." Later, we find out that Phyllis gave up a baby for adoption when she was in high school.
10** Jim’s VideoGame/SecondLife persona foreshadows his desired career of working in the sports industry in Philadelphia, which would later be explored thoroughly in Season 9.
11* FreudianSlip: Andy tells Dwight that Angela cried out, "Oh, D!" in the middle of a make-out session. Andy assumes she was just shortening his name, but Dwight knows better- "D" happens to be one of Angela's pet names for HIM.
12* IgnoredExpert: Michael rejects a jingle written and sung by Darryl, Andy, Kevin, Kelly, and Creed, all the musically-inclined members of the office.
13* InnocentBigot: While introducing the office staff to the ad guys, he called Stanley "urban" which Stanley is quick to correct Michael saying he grew up in a small town and rhetorically asked "what about me is 'urban?'" In Michael's defense, Stanley did tell Michael he was from "the ghetto" while giving him relationship advice in "Performance Review" but that was a lie so he could get a good review and a bonus. Michael also sees Darryl practicing his jingle for the commercial and assumed it was going to be a rap. Darryl jokingly asks Michael "what's rap?" and Michael responds with "You need to be more in touch with your culture."
14* RunningGag: Andy trying to remember the Kit Kat jingle. He eventually decides that the product is actually Fancy Feast.
15* StylisticSuck: Played around with; while most of the effects used in Michael's ad are as [[SpecialEffectsFailure predictably bad]] as one would expect for a literal NoBudget ad bashed together in less than a day, the shoddy [[ChromaKey green screen]] effect used to portray the Taj Mahal behind Kelly somehow gives way to a photo-realistic running track and finish line (it was clearly filmed on a real track, yet we see earlier that the scene was shot in the building parking lot). Pam's logo animation is [[LineBoil charmingly fair]] as well.
16* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: Jim jokes that when he tells people he works at Dunder Mifflin, they think he sells mufflers or mittens.

Top