Green themed cards not a hit on The Apprentice
An ill-advised decision to sell eco-themed greetings cards proved that jumping on the green bandwagon doesn't always pay off, on last night episode of The Apprentice.
Browbeaten project manager Kevin Shaw (pictured) bore the brunt of his team's failure and was duly given his marching orders by Sir Alan. But it was surely sour-faced Jenny - the originator of the idea - that deserved to be out of the show...
Not only did Jenny fail to see the most obvious flaw in her argument for green greetings cards when she put forward the idea; she then chose the worst possible moment to voice her concerns when it did occur to her that sending unnecessary paper in the name of the environment was more than a little ironic: while Kevin attempted to pitch the doomed idea to one major client, Jenny piped up that she was sending 'far fewer' cards since becoming environmentally aware.
It was difficult to watch without cringing. But what really amazed me was how at no point were any alternative 'green' solutions even suggested. The most obvious to my mind - using recycled paper - would still not have been ideal, but a nod towards it may have helped the team's cause (and has indeed been a successful business model for designer Sarah Gibb). It didn't occur to them, though, and neither did using an electronic greetings service. I hope this lack of insight into these fairly basic concepts is not representative of the public at large!
One of the clients did make the blindingly obvious point that an e-card would do less eco damage – but who was supposed to send these things in any way that wasn't going to be seen as hectoring and finger-pointing by the recipient? At least 'Serralun" got it right this time and ejected the right person, that arrogant little pillock Kevin! (Who apparently is still poncing about in his Porsche despite this setback, according to the porky twerp himself this morning on breakfast telly)
Posted by: George S | May 1, 2008 12:29 PM