Local Ad

Local Ad

Infobox Television episode
Title =Local Ad
Series =The Office


Caption =The Dunder Mifflin graphic created by Pam for the "Local Ad"
Season =4
Episode =5
Airdate =October 25, 2007 [http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/october07/article101907-5.html Michael is Asked to Participate in a Company Ad Next Week on "The Office"] Celebrity Spider, retrieved July 16, 2008]
Production =04009
Writer =B.J. Novak
Director =Jason Reitman
Guests =
Episode list =List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes
Season list =
Prev =Money
Next =Branch Wars
"Local Ad" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series "The Office", and the show's fifty-sixth episode overall. The episode was written by B.J. Novak, who also acts in the show as Ryan Howard, and directed by Jason Reitman. It originally aired in the United States on October 25, 2007 on the national terrestrial television network National Broadcasting Company.

After a video team is brought to the office to create a commercial for the company, Michael decides that the employees of the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin can create a better commercial. While the majority of the staff work on the commercial, Dwight, still depressed from his break-up with Angela, instead chooses to play a computer game.

Plot

When Michael Scott (Steve Carell) learns that the Scranton branch's participation in a Dunder Mifflin television commercial is limited to five seconds of the staff waving at the camera, he dismisses the advertising consultants sent to the branch, and convinces the company's corporate headquarters to consider an alternative version that he will produce himself.
Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) designs an animated logo for the commercial, while Phyllis Vance's (Phyllis Smith) mission to enlist visiting author Sue Grafton to appear in the ad is unsuccessful. Headed by Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson), a group of employees write and perform a jingle for the commercial, which Michael ultimately rejects. Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), meanwhile, struggles throughout the day to recall the product name from an advertising jingle.

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) has largely removed himself to the online virtual world of "Second Life". Dwight has created an avatar named Dwight Shelford, also a paper salesman, patterned after his once-perfect real life. He now uses "Second Life" as an escape from his real-life troubles, even going as far as creating a virtual "Second Life", called "Second Second Life". Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), on the other hand, has created an avatar named Jim Samtanko, a guitar-playing Philadelphia sportswriter, and enters "Second Life" in order to spy on Dwight.

Dwight has also reluctantly become Andy's confidante regarding his relationship with Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey), Dwight's former girlfriend. Dwight's spirits are lifted when he learns that, during a makeout session with Andy, Angela cried, "Oh, D!". Andy, though, is oblivious to the fact that Angela was referring to Dwight.

After the corporate headquarters rejects Michael's ad, the office employees gather at Poor Richard's Pub to watch the professionally filmed commercial, which Michael refers to as "the world premiere of corporate crapfest." After the commercial, Jim plays Michael's version of the commercial on the bar's television set, it receives a positive response from both the employees as well as the others at the bar.

Production

"Local Ad" was the seventh episode of the series written by B.J. Novak, who also acts in the show as Dunder Mifflin Vice President of Regional Sales Ryan Howard, and the first episode of the series directed by Jason Reitman, who directed the films "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking". When speaking about his directorial experience with "The Office", Reitman stated that "Anyhow, the whole experience was awesome. They’re all geniuses over there. I didn’t have to contribute much at the end of the day because they’re all so on their game." He also stated that "Weird moment of production design surprise - There's a three ring binder on Creed's desk with the logo from the Academy of Tobacco Studies that we created for ["Thank You For"] "Smoking". I have no idea how it got there and neither does he." [ [http://my.foxsearchlight.com/node/1237 Director's Blog] Fox Searchlight Pictures, retrieved July 16, 2008]

The "Second Life" scenes in "Local Ad" were produced by Clear Ink of Berkeley, CA, using existing locations within "Second Life" as well as virtual sets created for the episode. [cite web|url=http://clearnightsky.com/node/391|title=Clear Ink and NBC's "The Office" in "Second Life" - A Quick Recap|work= [http://www.clearnightsky.com clearnightsky.com] ] [cite web|url=http://slambling.blogspot.com/2007/10/office-viral-approach-to-second-life.html|title="The Office" - A Viral Approach to "Second Life"|work= [http://slambling.blogspot.com Ambling in Second Life] ] [cite web|url=http://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/2007/11/sl-business-c-1.html|title=SL Business Communicators Transcript: "The Office" in SL with Clear Ink|work= [http://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/ Business Communicators of Second Life] ] In a study made by IAG Research, the appearance of "Second Life" in "Local Ad" was rated eighth in the top ten most effective product placements of 2007. "The Office" was the only non-reality show to make the list, and "Second Life" was the only product on the list that did not pay for its placement. [cite web|url=http://clearnightsky.com/node/407|title=Effective (and cost-effective) brand placement: "Second Life" in "The Office"|work= [http://www.clearnightsky.com clearnightsky.com] ]

Reception

B.J Novak's writing of the episode was nominated for a 2007 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Episodic Comedy. But Novak ultimately failed to win, losing to another episode of "The Office", the third season finale "The Job." [ [http://wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=2653 2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced] Press Release. WGA. December 12, 2007.] "Local Ad" received a 5.2 Nielsen rating and an 8% Share. The episode was watched by an estimate audience of 8.98 million viewers and achieved a 4.7/11 in the key adults 18–49 demographic. This means that 4.1 percent of all people aged 18–49 viewed the episode, and eleven percent of all people watching television at the time viewed the episode. [cite web|url= http://entertainmentnow.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/broadcast-tv-ratings-for-thursday-october-25-2007|title=Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, October 25, 2007|publisher=Your Entertainment Now|accessdate=2007-10-26]

"Local Ad" received generally favorable reviews from critics. Travis Fickett of IGN gave the episode a favorable review, saying "This episode is a prime example of how "The Office" is able to do broad comedy while at the same time treating its characters as real people." Fickett went on to praise the acting of Rainn Wilson as a depressed Dwight, as well as the story's twist. Fickett stated that "A great twist here is that we think we're watching Michael pilot a sinking ship as usual, but in fact - the ad is quite good. There's some clever stuff in there, albeit some of it not exactly professional in its production, but Michael doesn't do such a bad job." [ [http://tv.ign.com/articles/830/830609p1.html "The Office": "Local Ad" Review] IGN, retrieved July 16, 2008] Like Fickett, Christine Fenno of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the episode a favorable review. Fenno said that "The premise of this episode, 'Local Ad' — the Scranton staffers shoot a commercial — was strong, and allowed almost every ensemble member to shine." Fenno also praised the acting work of Ed Helms as Andy, as well as Steve Carell as Michael. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20154684,00.html "The Office": See Spot Not Run] "Entertainment Weekly", retrieved July 16, 2008] Oscar Dahl, a Senior Writer for BuddyTV, praised the episode, but also felt that the episode's thirty minute length created a stark contrast to the previous four episodes' hour-long run, saying "tonight's episode felt short. Really short." [ [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-office/the-office-episode-45-local-ad-13026.aspx "The Office": Episode 4.5, "Local Ad" Recap] BuddyTV, retrieved July 16, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_songs_that_appear_in_episodes#Local_Ad Songs featured in "Local Ad"]


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  • local — local, ale (lo kal, ka l ) adj. 1°   Qui appartient à un lieu. •   Qu ajouterait à votre science [de vous, Dieu], à votre puissance, à votre grandeur, quelque espèce d étendue locale que ce soit ?, BOSSUET Élévat. sur myst. III, 3. •   Il y avait …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • local — LOCÁL, Ă, (1) localuri, s.n. (2) locali, e, adj. 1. s.n. Clădire sau grup de încăperi de utilitate publică (ocupate de o întreprindere, de o instituţie etc.). ♦ Sală special amenajată unde se serveşte publicului mâncare sau băutură; restaurant,… …   Dicționar Român

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  • Local — Lo cal (l[=o] kal), a. [L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See {Lieu}, {Locus}.] Of or pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite region or portion of space; restricted to one place or region; as, a local custom. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • local — (Del lat. locālis). 1. adj. Perteneciente o relativo al lugar. 2. Perteneciente o relativo a un territorio, a una comarca o a un país. 3. Municipal o provincial, por oposición a general o nacional. 4. Que solo afecta a una parte del cuerpo.… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

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