The Apprentice UK S04E06 (2008)
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TVTranscript
00:00Previously on The Apprentice.
00:13The teams had to make ice cream, then sell it through London outlets.
00:16We're going to make millions, man!
00:20Lucinda's team started well, landing a big deal with a cinema chain.
00:25We got it!
00:27Yeah, we got it!
00:29It's game over.
00:31But project manager Clare's determination
00:33helped her team clinch a last-minute contract.
00:37That is a sign of a good salesperson.
00:39We kept up the momentum against all odds.
00:43For Clare, it was an emotional victory in the boardroom.
00:48On the losing team, Lucinda's accusations about Jennifer came to a head.
00:53You said to me that you feel that she's a snake and she's evil
00:56and that she's detrimental.
00:57If I was going to be uncomfortable working with anyone, it would have been you.
01:00But it was Lindy, as head of the sales team, who took the blame.
01:04I'm looking to the person that hasn't really brought anything to these tasks.
01:10Lindy, you're fired.
01:16Oh, my God!
01:18Now 11 remain to fight for the chance to become The Apprentice.
01:28PHONE RINGS
01:326.30am.
01:37Good morning, this is Frances calling from Sir Alan's office.
01:40Sir Alan wants you to meet him at Hackney Town Hall.
01:42The car's been ready to pick you up in half an hour.
01:45Lovely, cheers.
01:46See you then, boy.
01:48You all right?
01:50I've been awake for about an hour and a half,
01:52just waiting for that bastard phone to ring.
01:58PHONE RINGS
02:03Sir Alan has told the teams to meet him in the east end of London.
02:07Destination, Hackney Town Hall.
02:15Sir Alan's roots are in Hackney.
02:17Born and brought up here, he established his first businesses in the area.
02:27Good morning.
02:28Good morning, Sir Alan.
02:30Here we are at the Hackney Town Hall, a wonderful place.
02:34Quite familiar to me.
02:36My birth was registered here, and my marriage.
02:39And if my blood pressure goes up any more in the boardroom,
02:42my death might be registered here also.
02:45Now, I've mentioned births, marriages and deaths,
02:49and those are occasions which are normally followed up by some form of greeting card.
02:55You're going to have to come up with your own special occasion,
02:59and then go off and make a range of five cards covering that occasion.
03:06Once you've designed your cards,
03:08you will be pitching to three of Britain's biggest greeting card retailers.
03:16The team that comes back with the most amount of orders will win,
03:20and the team that doesn't will lose,
03:22and in that team, as usual, one of you will get fired.
03:26Michael, I need to get to know you a little bit more,
03:30so I'm going to make you team leader of Alpha.
03:35Would you step over there?
03:39And Kevin, you're going to be team leader of Renaissance.
03:46All clear?
03:47Okay, off you go.
03:53MUSIC PLAYS
04:06I'm looking forward to working with new people.
04:09I'm expecting an open-mindedness by everyone in a creative task.
04:14Complete lateral thinking is imperative.
04:17I will do anything to win The Apprentice.
04:19There wouldn't be anyone I wouldn't screw over to get that sole prize,
04:24and that's the absolute resounding truth.
04:31I think this is a fantastic task.
04:33It's creative, we've got creative people.
04:36We've definitely got a stronger team.
04:38You know, we're very innovative and quite creative,
04:41so, you know, I couldn't be happier.
04:44As a leader, I inspire devotion.
04:46People want to work for me because I make their life inspirational.
04:50By the age of 20, I had my first house.
04:52By the age of 23, I had my second house.
04:55By the age of 23, I had my Porsche.
04:57Now I want a Ferrari, and I'll do anything I can
05:00to be the most successful businessman the world has seen by the age of 40.
05:12Based at Hallmark's London studio,
05:14both teams have one day to invent a new occasion
05:17to mark with five greetings cards.
05:20Guys?
05:22What about, like, a national joke day,
05:24so we base it all on humour and it'd be simply to cheer people up?
05:28My idea is, along the lines of cosmetic surgery,
05:32you can give a greeting card to someone who's about to have a boob job
05:36or a nose job, whatever it may be, and I think that's a good idea.
05:39Boob job, from my experience, most women, you know,
05:42are happy to tell people they've had a boob job,
05:45but things, intimate things like nose jobs and, you know,
05:48more intimate things, things that, you know, you don't want to flaunt.
05:51The way I looked at it was that, yeah, it's a familial thing,
05:55so it's for families to give their loved ones,
05:57they're going under the knife.
06:00Down the corridor, Kevin's team is also trying to come up
06:03with an original occasion.
06:05Another one that I had was prom day, sort of graduation from school,
06:09which is a very American thing that's sort of coming over to England.
06:12Another one was in the environment.
06:14We're getting sort of a huge environmental awareness
06:17that's growing in the UK.
06:19I was also thinking if we could also go for a religious theme,
06:22like there's so many shops that I go to and you can't find Eid cards,
06:25you can't find Vaisakhi cards.
06:27You do get them in a few shops, they're very limited range,
06:29they're very floral and there is a market for them.
06:31Sorry, cos we're going to be talking to people about these cards.
06:34How do you see the environmental cards?
06:36There's sort of days now, like Saving the Planet Day and things like that.
06:40Some of these supermarkets, they're paying you now
06:43to recycle your bags and things, aren't they?
06:45So they're obviously quite aware of that themselves.
06:47So we're all clear on what we need to do.
06:49Yep.
06:50We've got five key objectives.
06:52We're going to make this research count
06:54and absolutely nail Alpha to the floor by four o'clock.
06:58Absolutely.
06:59So team Renaissance, well done.
07:01Let's go and have some fun.
07:04Kevin sends his team to see how well their ideas fit the High Street card market.
07:09Tomorrow, both teams must pitch their cards to three retailers.
07:14The Celebrations Group, with 288 stores across the country,
07:19supermarket giant Tesco
07:22and market leaders Clinton Cards.
07:28I would want to send a card to as many friends as possible
07:31to say, look, start doing something about the huge impact
07:35that we're having on our environment.
07:37We're destroying the world with our actions.
07:40Let's take some action to counteract that.
07:44I'm going for pets.
07:46We've got to target as wide a market as possible.
07:49That's what I'm thinking about, Sarah.
07:51I'm not thinking about targeting the smallest market possible.
07:53I just think that pets would be...
07:54Am I?
07:55That's why I'm thinking pets would be a bigger...
07:56Yes, I know, but I'm coming up with more than one idea.
07:58We cannot just focus on one idea.
08:00That's fine, we've got about 15 ideas, haven't we?
08:02Well, the more ideas, the better at this stage, I think.
08:07I feel that I'm not heard, and I do have some good ideas,
08:10which are just, you say it to them and they'll just ignore it
08:13and just won't answer, so that makes one think
08:16that the idea's not a good idea,
08:18and then when I mention it at a later occasion,
08:20it's like, oh, but why didn't you tell us?
08:25The Greetings card market is already saturated.
08:28The team's new ideas must stand out.
08:31Excuse me. Can you tell me if you have any cards about dating?
08:35We don't.
08:36You do? Do you have any to congratulate somebody on losing weight?
08:40Yeah, we don't.
08:41You do? Best friend?
08:42Yeah.
08:43Yeah, OK.
08:44But you don't have anything to do with support the environment?
08:47No, nothing for the...
08:49At the moment, environment's coming out above all the other subjects,
08:53so it's the topic that I think's the strongest,
08:56so I'm really pleased about that.
09:02Convinced by Jenny's idea,
09:04Kevin goes for a range of environmental cards
09:07to mark their newly created Save the Planet week.
09:11When we're pitching to these companies,
09:13we really need to emphasise the fact that
09:15they've got to throw their weight behind it.
09:17So we say, look, this is a fantastic concept,
09:19but Save the Earth week is only going to work
09:22if you put your backing behind it,
09:24and this is why this week we support national Save the Planet week,
09:28but go out, buy a card, read up on some facts
09:31and start making a difference.
09:33If I compare Kevin to an animal, he'd be like a pit bull terrier.
09:38He bites quite easily, he's quite arrogant.
09:41He's quite common within the house
09:43that people think he's got short-man syndrome.
09:45I need to ensure that I contribute vastly to the task
09:49and pitching is what I do best
09:52and I can put a lot of passion in my voice.
09:54He takes everything very seriously,
09:56which is good because you have to be in business,
09:59but the fun fact is about zero.
10:02These are all birthdays, these are all birthdays.
10:05There's nothing in that market right now.
10:07We need to get to speak to some more people.
10:09Michael's team is also on a research trip.
10:12Visiting retailers they'll pitch to tomorrow,
10:15Rafe spots a gap in the market.
10:17Michael, hi, it's Rafe here.
10:19We all know about Valentine's Day.
10:21Yeah.
10:22During Valentine's Day, those people who are single
10:25pretty much feel like shit,
10:26so my idea was basically a singles day.
10:29Right.
10:30Anything else?
10:31No.
10:32No, that's it, Michael.
10:33OK.
10:34Bye-bye.
10:35I like that.
10:36It's not bad.
10:37We can throw that in the mix on Oxford Street, can't we?
10:43We're looking at opening the market up for singles,
10:45so we're celebrating a day of people that are actually single.
10:49Come on!
10:50Finally, my time has come!
10:52Hey, I like that!
10:54How do you feel about that?
10:55Yeah.
10:56When do you think would be the best time to do a singles day?
10:58Would you do it on Valentine's Day?
11:03Guys, that's fantastic.
11:04Thanks so much for your help, appreciate it.
11:05Cheers.
11:06Bye-bye.
11:07Bye.
11:103.30pm.
11:12With singles day agreed,
11:14Michael calls his team back to the studio.
11:19Hello.
11:20Hi, how are you doing?
11:21Good afternoon.
11:22Before starting work on designs,
11:24Michael needs a volunteer to pitch their cards to the retailers tomorrow.
11:28I do presentations, but it's over the phone, it's slightly different.
11:32I want someone who does presentations face-to-face,
11:35has a lot of experience doing that.
11:37So, firstly, I want to know who's actually up for pitching
11:41the companies that we're actually going to...
11:44Right, because there's everyone.
11:46I think it's important to make the distinction that this is a presentation
11:49and not a quick, you know, certain pitch.
11:51Once we get that in our heads, I think we'll be fine.
11:54I agree with that.
11:55So, with that in mind, is everyone still up for doing the presentation?
11:58Yes.
11:59Yeah.
12:00I think I'm going to make a decision about that
12:02and I'm going to put Rafe as the person who's going to do the presentation.
12:05Because you're happy with that, Rafe?
12:07Yeah, very much so.
12:08OK, good.
12:09The spoken word is my tool.
12:12You know, the art of sales relies heavily on the ability
12:17to be able to communicate efficiently and the ability to persuade,
12:22and those are two abilities that I have, you know, up to full capacity.
12:29Thank you, Joe.
12:30See you tomorrow.
12:317pm.
12:35Kevin's team gets to work on designs for the range of environmental cards.
12:40I don't know who was good at poetry at school.
12:42Anyone good at poems?
12:44A house with no insulation is a crime against the nation.
12:47Don't be a cheat, keep in the heat and protect our next generation.
12:51Yay!
12:54I'm absolutely delighted that the subject of the environment
12:57has been picked up by the team,
12:58but they're all getting really passionate about it.
13:01I've even spoken to Kev today about him giving up his Porsche
13:05and trading that in for a bicycle as well.
13:07So goodness knows what's going to happen by tomorrow.
13:13But who will do the presentations tomorrow
13:15still needs to be decided by Kevin.
13:18With regards to the pitch,
13:20I think we've got some really competent people here
13:23around sort of one being not really confident at all
13:26and five being I'm so confident I would smash it.
13:30Where would you be?
13:31Claire, what do you think?
13:33I'm going to sound really arrogant.
13:35No, the whole point is it's not arrogance, it's self-confidence.
13:39Do you feel that you could go in there and just smash it to pieces
13:44and you're the person that they'd want to buy from?
13:47Yeah, definitely.
13:48This, for me, it's quite normal.
13:51I deal with pitches every single day I go to work.
13:54It doesn't really faze me a huge amount.
13:56Sarah?
13:57I think on this occasion I'd feel that either Jenny or Claire
14:01would be more suited to do the pitch.
14:03Jen?
14:04I'm hugely passionate about the subject.
14:07I have a very strong sales background.
14:10For me, I'm totally 150% confident I can go in there and nail a pitch.
14:17I know I can do that.
14:19I mean, I would really relish the opportunity to do it.
14:22So I think what we need to do is just ensure that I can capture
14:27everything that you would want to put into it
14:31and then I can put my own personality into it.
14:34I'm quite confident that if it came down to it,
14:36if I was having a conversation with Sir Alan Sugar about the environment,
14:40I don't think he would have a chance of challenging me
14:43because I think it's such a powerful statement.
14:46And, you know, anyone who feels that the environment isn't worth saving
14:50is going to lose the argument.
14:53Through our cards...
14:55Midnight.
14:56Rafe puts some final touches to his singles day pitch.
15:00..and say, through our cards, we put forward to you
15:04the notion of a singles day.
15:07For too long, the card market has ostracised...
15:11Absolutely. Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. This is excellent.
15:14For too long, the card market has ostracised those that are either
15:18on their own through either choice or circumstance.
15:22Believe, man. You believe in your products so much...
15:25I do.
15:26..that they're going to buy it from you in volumes.
15:29And volumes of stuff! Love it.
15:33Right, guys. See you later.
15:467.30am.
15:48Today, the teams must shoot their photos
15:51and produce five different card designs.
15:55They must be ready to pitch to three major retailers by 6pm.
16:07Project manager Kevin takes Sarah to the design studio
16:11to work on the layout of the cards.
16:13You're Alex. Kevin. Kevin!
16:15The other half of his team will direct the photoshoot
16:18and have hired professional models.
16:24We look like the right motley crew.
16:26The plan? Photograph five different ecological images
16:30for the front of their cards.
16:32Well done, Alex!
16:33You've got to be smiling, Alex.
16:35Now smile, Alex! Big smile! Big grin!
16:38You're awesome!
16:40Yay! Woo-hoo!
16:42Smile! Go on!
16:50It's really good, isn't it?
16:5312.15pm.
16:55Tom, a professional model, gets a brief from Jenny.
16:59Having just farted, your kilt is going to have kicked up at the back,
17:03revealing a rather nice pair of buttocks to the audience.
17:06But what it is, it's a really serious message
17:09about people actually utilising wind power
17:11to help reduce global warming.
17:13Shall we have a practice with pants on first?
17:16Whatever you feel comfortable, Tom.
17:18Pants on or off?
17:20Pants on or off?
17:22Can we try the pants on?
17:24It's a bit chilly, Tom. You'll have to bear with us on that.
17:27Can you put more power on this air?
17:29Keep forward.
17:31That's brilliant!
17:33Right, do you want a thong?
17:35Because we've got a thong.
17:37It's a woman's thong.
17:41No, but it's like a sports one,
17:43so you can't tell the difference between men and women.
17:46Yeah? Yeah.
17:49Yeah! Woohoo!
17:51OK, so just some of those.
17:53Yeah, good. Looking really good, Tom.
17:55That looks really good, guys.
17:57As far as men's bottoms go.
18:00Up with the arm! Oh, my gosh!
18:03I can't wait.
18:05Back at the design studio, images start coming through.
18:09That's not you, is it, Kevin?
18:11No.
18:13He looks like a woman.
18:15I'll leave Kevin to choose this one.
18:17He doesn't exactly look manly, does he?
18:19The beauty of wind power.
18:21Well, there's something rather strange about sending a card
18:24in order to save the environment,
18:26even if it is made of recycled paper.
18:28It's going to have an envelope, it's going to have to be posted and so on,
18:32and it's going to contain a sort of sermon, I think.
18:35I'm not sure that's necessarily what people want
18:38when they send a card to somebody.
18:40What do you think, Kevin?
18:46On the other team, Michael has sent the girls to the photo shoot,
18:51and he's left them to sort out who does what.
18:56We need to discuss between the three of us, because there's three of us here.
19:00Nob is telling you what to do.
19:03So what do you feel comfortable doing?
19:05I feel comfortable doing anything,
19:07but obviously I think we all need to say we do need to find roles.
19:10I tell you what, call Michael and ask him.
19:13He's the boss. If it's going to become an issue, I don't want that.
19:16It's not even becoming an issue.
19:18It's not worth arguing over.
19:20Let's ring Michael and I'll do whatever is required.
19:22We don't need to call Michael. Sweetheart, we don't need to call Michael.
19:32Arriving at the studio, they still can't agree.
19:36Without sounding big-headed, a lot of the ideas have come from my head,
19:41and I know in terms of the phrases and where I'm going with it.
19:46I totally want your opinion on it.
19:48It needs to be a team thing, doesn't it?
19:50Because I've got all the props and stuff like that.
19:52It's about being creative, and I'm creative and sure-generous as well.
19:55So we all need to contribute.
19:57It's not going to be just your ideas and what you do.
19:59I'm not saying that for the moment.
20:01I know you're not.
20:02But we can't have three people cluttered around.
20:04Absolutely not, no.
20:05Are you okay with that?
20:07I'm fine with that.
20:08Fantastic.
20:09Okay.
20:10I'm just really disappointed in Lucinda.
20:12It's like she's looking for an argument all the time.
20:14I think it's also about creating a situation, you know.
20:17Oh, woe is me. Feel sorry for me.
20:19People are making decisions without me, and nobody has.
20:22Hiya, how are you doing?
20:24As the models arrive, they decide Helene and Jennifer will direct
20:28while Lucinda takes care of the props.
20:31Their first photo is for a card aimed at single mums.
20:35Okay, let's try that again, then, spinning around.
20:37That was absolutely fabulous.
20:44Can we have another spinning shot again?
20:46Which way?
20:47The one before, like that.
20:49Can we not have it just together and two words side by side?
20:54At the design studio, project manager Michael is with the rest of his team.
20:59But his layout throws up a problem.
21:02Do you have a... This is a ridiculous question.
21:04I'm so inept with computers.
21:05Do you have a spell check for this?
21:06Because I want to make sure that there's no apostrophe on S.
21:10There.
21:11No, it wouldn't be there. It would be after the S.
21:14Just leave it as it is.
21:16I'm going to make a phone call just to check that.
21:19Hello, is that the Telegraph?
21:21Can I get put through to the editing, editors' department, please?
21:24It's really important, so if you could do that, I'd really appreciate it.
21:30How long does it take?
21:32Can I have the number, please, for the British Library?
21:35These are always the complicated ones, aren't they, where the apostrophe goes?
21:39Yeah.
21:40I know, it's so easy to get it wrong.
21:42Do you want us to check and ring you back?
21:44If you could call me as soon as possible, I'd really appreciate it.
21:47I desperately need your help, desperately.
21:52Well, I've gone onto the web, and as far as we can find, there's no apostrophe anywhere.
21:57I would imagine the singles would be after the S, which is plural.
22:02Everyone's coming out with something different.
22:05Can you try another library?
22:113.30pm.
22:13The photo shoot completed,
22:15the other half of Kevin's team set off to meet him back at the design studio.
22:20I hope Kevin, by the time we get there,
22:22I expect him to have had this pic picked pretty much nailed.
22:25If he's volunteered to do it and they've been sat doing the cards...
22:29He's going to have to practise in front of us, though, isn't he?
22:31Because some retail guys won't listen to someone droning on.
22:34Yeah, no, most definitely.
22:36Even if he just draws from all our opinions.
22:38Kevin's environmental pitch to the retailers is just over two and a half hours away.
22:43But he's a bank manager.
22:45The only person who should be doing this pitch is Jenny.
22:49We've got a ready-made environmentalist who knows this subject inside out.
22:54And if we were going in there and talking about commercial stuff,
22:57I'd say, well, I'm probably the better person to it.
23:00But Kevin doesn't know about environmental stuff.
23:03Jenny's the man here.
23:06I have voiced it last night to him.
23:09I have as well.
23:14With Sarah's help, Kevin has spent six hours
23:17adjusting the cards' layout and wording.
23:21Hi, guys.
23:23Well done.
23:26He asks the rest of his team for a proofread.
23:30I think it should be small, just capital, insulate your home.
23:34Yeah, and then reduce your small e, small c.
23:38Is it italics?
23:40I don't want to talk about font, that's the decision I've made.
23:43I just want to check that you're happy, that you think it looks OK.
23:46OK, but, Kevin, not to be pedantic, don't say, do you like it?
23:50And if I say, is it italics? And you go, well, I don't care, I've chosen it.
23:54No, I didn't say I don't care.
23:56What I said is, we've had to make the decision, and it looks professional.
24:00But with their first appointment less than two hours away,
24:04Kevin still hasn't started work on his pitch.
24:07What I would like you guys to do, if possible,
24:09if you could just start the pitch now, start getting some information together,
24:12while me and Sarah finish these off.
24:14Have you done anything on the pitch yet?
24:16No, we've literally, we've been on this completely.
24:19So if you could start it for me.
24:21Do you want to go away from here and then give us some space?
24:30I'm not laughing.
24:32I feel like a naughty schoolgirl.
24:35I can tell that Kevin's feeling very, very, very stressed,
24:39and I don't want to push him over the edge.
24:43I'm really surprised.
24:56On Michael's team, after three and a half hours of arguing about the apostrophe
25:01and the cards not yet printed, it's decision time.
25:05My grammatical knowledge says put it after the S.
25:10OK, look, I'll tell you what I'm going to do,
25:12and I don't want to hear any more about it.
25:14I'm going to put the apostrophe after the S.
25:16I'm going to leave it like that, and then that's that.
25:18Because do you know what? We need to carry on.
25:21We've got so many things to do. We've got really little time now.
25:27On the other team, Kevin starts work on his pitch,
25:30coached by retail buyer Claire.
25:33And I'd want to know how you're different from your competition.
25:37Then I'd say, how do you know that?
25:39Because I'd want to know. You can't just be going, I know that.
25:41I'd want to know, well, what research have you done?
25:43If you were stood in front of these people,
25:46do you think that you would remember, from start to finish,
25:51that complete process? Is that just embedded in you? Yeah.
25:55So is it not better to get someone with the most experience in that field to do it?
25:59You understand the industry.
26:01No, I personally think Jenny should do the pitch, because for me...
26:04I'm loving how, all of a sudden, it's coming back to me.
26:08I would have been very happy to do this pitch had I known yesterday,
26:12and I asked specifically because I would have been delighted to do it.
26:15Two hours before, I'm not happy to go in and do a pitch.
26:19It's no problem. It's fine. We'll move on. It's OK.
26:22I was hugely disappointed that Kev realised that this pitch
26:27wasn't going to be as simple as it might seem.
26:30He'd left the planning of it far too late
26:32and at the 11th hour decided to pass the buck.
26:35I was not prepared to accept responsibility for his failings as a team leader.
26:435.50pm.
26:45After two days of work producing their cards, the time has come to pitch.
26:51The pitch must persuade the retailers to place orders for the cards.
26:57The team with most orders will win.
26:59First stop for Michael's team, Clinton Cards, Britain's biggest card chain.
27:06The team's National Singles Day, scheduled for February 13th,
27:10will be pitched by Rafe.
27:12Hi, Rafe. We have created not just a card,
27:15I believe we've created an industry,
27:17and I believe we've created a diary entry.
27:20Without further ado, I'd like to unveil aforementioned concept.
27:25National Singles Day.
27:27A day, in essence, to celebrate being single.
27:32I think, though, you've missed a point.
27:34At that time, because Valentine's is certainly within second or third of our largest seasons,
27:40probably 40% of our store has been turned over to Valentine's Day.
27:45I'm not sure I would have tried to have it fight against one of our major seasons.
27:51Next, number two in the greetings card business, Tesco.
27:57I'd just like to say that we've come back from a very, what I would describe,
28:01positive meeting with the market leader in this particular department.
28:08And with that in mind, let's unveil National Singles Day.
28:13A day to celebrate being single.
28:16And you think people want to celebrate being single?
28:18Absolutely.
28:19Absolutely.
28:20On the day before Valentine's Day.
28:22Absolutely.
28:23So, logistically, on one of the busiest days in the year,
28:26the day before, you want to try and sell different cards to what's all been sold.
28:29There's so many single people in the UK at the moment that despise Valentine's Day,
28:35so what we're looking to do is tap into that market and say,
28:38you know what, it's good to be single, it's cool to be single,
28:42Let's be proud of being single.
28:44Right.
28:45And who's going to send the card?
28:53There's obviously a bit of an issue with the date situation.
28:55The last two people we've spoken to said the date, we don't have the capacity,
28:59so why are we harping on about it?
29:01Do you not think that by changing the date,
29:03it basically goes against everything we've been pitching?
29:06Do you not think that by changing the date,
29:08it basically goes against everything we've been pitching?
29:11My decision is we're going to remove the date from the pitch.
29:14I don't want anyone deliberating about it.
29:16I'm going to go with the decision.
29:28National Singles Day.
29:30A day to celebrate being single.
29:33And when would you propose that that day was held?
29:36We're quite receptive to suggestions.
29:40So you don't know?
29:42It's not a case of not knowing, it's understanding that...
29:47We want to, if I can just interrupt,
29:50we want to make sure, logistically,
29:52that it's viable for you guys as the retailers.
29:55Sure.
29:56I've got half a dozen single parent friends
30:00who I'd love to send that to,
30:03just in recognition of the fact that they are,
30:07I guess you could call them, a forgotten part of society.
30:13Now, after some hurried preparation,
30:15it's time for Kevin to pitch his team's environmental cards
30:18to the retailers.
30:20The concept's so strong, I think you would really need...
30:24I'd really need to ball it up big time for it not to sell itself.
30:29First, Clinton's.
30:32I just want to quote you some facts that I think are very valuable,
30:37not only to Clinton Cards,
30:39but to every man, woman and child walking this planet.
30:45434 million tonnes worth of rubbish
30:50is throwing away each year in the UK.
30:5617 billion plastic bags are also thrown away.
31:08I truly believe that a basic, straightforward card
31:13could start to change the way we work, travel, live
31:19and have fun together.
31:22I open for questions.
31:25Who do you think's going to buy these cards?
31:28Who's your target consumer?
31:30The target consumer... OK, fine.
31:33The target consumer could be numerous people.
31:36When you look at the Live Earth concert,
31:39you had young children, families, single teenagers.
31:44I think I'm missing the point.
31:46The question that Debbie asked you was, who is going to buy it?
31:49Now, I understand people tuning into a concert,
31:52they're doing that because they're going to get music and enjoyment from it.
31:55What is the motivation to go into our shop
31:58and buy this card and give it to somebody?
32:01What is the motivation to come and buy that?
32:03First of all, I know who your market is, it's everyone,
32:06because people are more aware of green issues.
32:09I personally have slowed down enormously
32:12on the number of cards that I buy,
32:14simply because I'm aware of the environmental impact
32:17of all the paper that we're sending and everything else.
32:21Do you think that's actually going to make somebody smile?
32:25A bath uses 120 litres of water, whereas a shower only uses 30 litres.
32:30Being efficient in the way you wash will stop your money going down the drain.
32:34Bathe less, shower more.
32:36If you don't put your weight behind it,
32:39then it's just the same as the US saying,
32:42we don't care about pollution.
32:47Do you have any more questions?
32:49No, I have no more questions. Thanks very much.
32:52Thank you. Nice to meet you.
32:54You can't go and pitch to national retail chains
32:57without any preparation.
32:59I wonder if they found him a bit angry?
33:02It hasn't given me any worries about the cards.
33:05At the end of the day, they weren't there to make our job easy.
33:08If they don't want to support the environment,
33:11then Clinton Cards are an environmentally friendly company.
33:14If that's the attitude everyone takes,
33:16then we're not going to be able to save any planet.
33:21Next, celebrations.
33:27Kevin, can I just ask, would you not consider it a contradiction in terms
33:31that somebody who is eco-friendly would want to pay for a card
33:36when potentially they could send an e-card?
33:39Wouldn't they do that if you're eco-friendly?
33:41Wouldn't you save the paper?
33:43Wouldn't you save the materials?
33:45No, I don't believe they would, because I think the whole point of this card
33:48is we're trying to educate people.
33:50Because at the end of the day, we all live on this planet
33:53and we all need to do something to fix it.
33:55Recycle, recycle, recycle.
33:57468 million tonnes worth of rubbish in the UK
34:00is disposed of every single year.
34:02I totally understand the message is good.
34:05I'm struggling to see how a greeting card is the best way
34:09of getting across this message to people.
34:11I believe it is.
34:13I mean, you could have balloons.
34:15I assume you sell helium balloons with the Love Our Planet logo.
34:19You could do mugs, pens.
34:22You could have T-shirts.
34:24Are you recyclable, presumably?
34:26Yeah.
34:28I think we're slightly moving off the point of this here.
34:31Thank you very much.
34:33Thank you very much. I really do appreciate that.
34:35OK, because I think you're so passionate when you're talking,
34:38you check your language and your body language
34:41because you're pointing in her face.
34:43At one point, I felt like it was quite aggressive.
34:46So just mental notes.
34:53Finally, Tesco.
34:59I've actually got a vision and that's me walking into a store
35:03and straight ahead of me I've got the hanging signs
35:06that says Love Our Planet.
35:09What we've come up with and the concept that we've designed
35:13is a very environmentally-based project
35:17that we believe certainly a company of your size
35:21and with your weight could really make a difference.
35:24And what we're asking your customers to do
35:27is actually take notice and the fact that we can all make it happen.
35:32OK.
35:34I felt that went beautifully, it went smoothly.
35:36I felt like we'd captured his heart and mine.
35:39Team Renaissance hug.
35:41I feel like a jerk.
35:43Well done, guys.
36:05Oh, my God.
36:16I'm going to teach the boardroom now.
36:35Afternoon.
36:42Now, Michael, you were the team leader.
36:45I was. Yeah? Yeah.
36:47Your idea was...?
36:49I decided to go with Rafe's idea, which was to celebrate singledom.
36:54We want to run that past this 61-year-old fart here
36:57because I'm missing the point.
36:59Who's sending it to them? They send it to themselves?
37:02No, no.
37:03Let's say you're going into a card shop
37:05to buy a Valentine's Day card for your loved one.
37:07There's also a section for your single card
37:10for your friend or your sister.
37:12Why February 13th?
37:14Well, we could play alongside or feed into the Valentine's market.
37:19I'm only thinking as a person, you know, as a merchandiser myself.
37:23Where am I going to stick this on the shelf in my shop on a week
37:26that I've got to allocate space for Valentine's Day?
37:31In hindsight, would you have chosen a different date then?
37:33I wouldn't have. You wouldn't?
37:35No, I was happy with that decision. Right.
37:37How was Michael as the team leader?
37:39He was good, good, sir. Good decision-maker.
37:41What do you think? How was him? Quite good.
37:43Although there was an extraordinary period of about four hours
37:46where they toyed with an apostrophe in the National Singles Day.
37:50What was this, grammar? Yeah, which is important.
37:52You don't want to get a spelling mistake.
37:54You spent four hours working out where the apostrophe should go.
37:57I think the editor of the Daily Telegraph...
37:59Don't get too passionate with me, young man. I'm asking you a question.
38:02Did you spend four hours wondering where the apostrophe goes?
38:05It was about three hours, but, yes, we spent... Oh, sorry.
38:09Kevin. Yes, sir, Alan.
38:11Team leader. Yes. Yeah.
38:13Same thing, really. What do you do with your team?
38:16What we were positioning is having a Love Your Planet week once a year.
38:21I wanted to get the point across that if we don't actually take notice,
38:25i.e. if the G8 suddenly decided we're not going to do anything,
38:28we're not going to make the world a better place,
38:30and if the biggest retailer in the UK could put their weight behind it,
38:33that could make a real difference.
38:35You know, cards are for sending a personal sentiment.
38:39People don't send cards to politically preach to people.
38:45And who did the pitches, then?
38:47I did the pitch, sir, Alan.
38:49Did you, as a team, think he was the best person to go forward?
38:53No.
38:54We had a number of discussions as a group about who could pitch
38:57because I've got retail experience, Jenny's already met...
39:00Yeah, you are a retail buyer, right?
39:02Yeah. Kevin was very adamant that he was good at pitching
39:07and he was the best person to do it.
39:09You said, I'm the project manager, I'm going to do it.
39:11I wanted to do it.
39:12Even bearing in mind that she is a retail buyer, so...
39:15I wanted to learn, sir, Alan, and I had confidence in myself.
39:18Right. Well, we'll find out.
39:21Let's see how these retailers received you.
39:24Margaret, let's start off with Tesco's.
39:27How did we do there? Renaissance?
39:29Well, Tesco's bought 6,000 cards from Renaissance.
39:33Right. So they liked it.
39:36And Nick, how did Tesco's like Alpha's card?
39:40A little less, with 1,500.
39:45Right. Clinton?
39:47Clinton's didn't buy any from Renaissance.
39:51And Clinton's for Alpha?
39:53It's another 1,500 from Clinton's.
39:59And Celebrations?
40:03Celebrations didn't buy any from Renaissance.
40:06Right. And Celebrations for Alpha?
40:11They were keener.
40:13They bought 19,500.
40:16Come on!
40:18Come on!
40:20Come on!
40:27This is not a football match.
40:29This outburst of yours, which is...
40:34..not something that I would condone normally in this boardroom.
40:38Apologise. Apologise.
40:40But well done.
40:42Now, I've arranged a private recital for you
40:47back at the house.
40:49Off you go, and I'll see you on the next task.
41:00You see, when I heard your green idea,
41:04my initial instinct was it was no good.
41:07And it seems to me
41:09that two leading specialist retailers agree with me.
41:14You need to go away.
41:16You need to talk amongst yourself.
41:18You will be back in this boardroom
41:20where one of you will get fired.
41:22Off you go.
41:34I think the concept is still very strong.
41:38I just think, obviously, it's not commercial enough.
41:41I think Phil, the pitch was...
41:43Compared to the last pitch, the first and second were as clear.
41:46He tried to swing the pitch back to me at the 11th hour,
41:49which hasn't been mentioned yet,
41:51and I'm quite happy to bring that up
41:53and discuss Kevin's presenting style,
41:55which is almost like a machine gun.
41:57Sarah, you only delivered a couple of ideas
41:59that have already previously been done.
42:01You said, Sarah, what are your ideas?
42:03And I said, I want to think of the wider market.
42:05You said to me, well, of course I'm thinking
42:07of the wider market with the environment.
42:09The one person that I absolutely think
42:11should be fired is Sarah.
42:13She delivered nothing but a smug look in the corner
42:16and didn't even have one tiny little thing
42:18to contribute to the team.
42:39♪
43:06Yeah!
43:26So I'm going to see you now.
43:35♪
43:44I don't see the point of sending one of these cards to someone.
43:49And I think where you went off the rails here was
43:52you went off in some kind of weird goody-goodies,
43:57supporting this, you know, green and environmental thing,
44:01and defocused from what people really would go and buy.
44:05Who was the prime innovator of this topic?
44:10That was me, Sir Alan.
44:12Any member of the public that has a passion for this green stuff
44:16would say, the last thing I'm going to do is buy a card
44:20which is actually worsening the case.
44:24I disagree with that, Sir Alan,
44:26because I think at the end of the day
44:29you weren't trying to preach to people.
44:31How can you disagree with it?
44:33The whole principle of green is that
44:36a person is trying to economically acknowledge
44:40that I don't want to use materials unnecessarily.
44:44While I accept that in the long haul
44:48that we have to think about these green and environmental measures,
44:52I also try to think about today.
44:54I would have complimented you
44:56if you came up with some range of even bereavement cards
44:59that said something like,
45:01sorry to hear that your 11-year-old beautiful child
45:04got shot in the head by a hoodie.
45:06You know, sorry to hear that your loving husband
45:09with two children got kicked to a pulp.
45:12You know, because these are the problems that we've got
45:14at the moment in this country,
45:16and these are the things that perhaps people might have signed on to.
45:19Two of these retailers that specialise in greeting cards
45:23thought your idea was appalling.
45:25In fact, I can tell you, Kevin,
45:28that Clinton Cards, for example,
45:31reported that your pitch was dreadful.
45:35They found you a bit cocky.
45:36They found you preaching to them,
45:38not selling them cards, preaching to them.
45:41There was a smell of arrogance about you, they felt.
45:44So you decided to do the pitching, right?
45:47I did, Sir Alan.
45:48Yeah. Did anybody else put themselves forward?
45:51You two did.
45:52Can I just say that I think perhaps it was a good thing
45:55that Jenny didn't do it, because she actually told Clinton
45:59that because of environmental concerns
46:01she wasn't buying so many cards any more.
46:03Is that right?
46:04Yes, I did, Sir Alan.
46:05How can you make a statement on one side saying that
46:08I personally don't buy so many cards any more for this reason,
46:12and then, you know, come up with a concept initially
46:16of this is what we should do?
46:18I really do passionately believe that that concept
46:21was the hole in the market.
46:22It pitched correctly, it could have.
46:24I'll tell you what, it's beyond my comprehension, this.
46:27Kevin, you know what she does for a living?
46:30Yes, I know what she does.
46:32She is a retail buyer.
46:33I understand that.
46:34So who better than a retail buyer
46:37to know what to say to another retail buyer?
46:39Absolutely, I agree.
46:40So there's a time sometimes, you know,
46:42when someone like yourself who seems to always want to be
46:45in the forefront should step away
46:47and let someone else who knows what they're doing
46:50let them do it.
46:51When we started to prepare the pitch yesterday,
46:53which was, you know, at 3 o'clock,
46:56I actually said to Claire...
46:58You changed your mind then, did you?
46:59You bottled it a little bit.
47:00No, no, no, I hadn't bottled it, Sir Alan.
47:02We were only putting the pitch together that first...
47:04Did he ask you then to take over?
47:06He did.
47:07The night before when we were doing the break...
47:09Why didn't you?
47:10Kevin was very adamant that his project manager,
47:12and he, to quote, has never lost a pitch in his life,
47:15wanted to do it.
47:16He's lost two here.
47:17He was very passionate about doing it.
47:19But, Claire, you do this for a job.
47:21I wonder whether, you know, you should have stepped in
47:24and helped out.
47:25Sir Alan, in my book, I felt I did help out.
47:28You didn't step in.
47:30You actually said you thought Jenny would be better than you.
47:34Jenny here came up with the concept.
47:36I think we've all agreed here that the concept was no good.
47:39I wasn't aware of a huge array of ideas coming from anyone.
47:43I said there's a couple, but I had absolutely nothing
47:46that was delivered from Sara throughout the course of the first day.
47:50And I feel that we have run a race
47:53and we have tried to deliver success,
47:55whereas some people haven't even taken part in the race.
47:58Jenny, can I just get back...
47:59And I feel that that is really unfair.
48:01Jenny, every time I tried to put an idea across to you, Jenny,
48:04you attacked me completely.
48:06That is absolutely rubbish. Can you support me on this?
48:09Jenny, do you know what you... Can I just finish, Alex?
48:11Kevin, you have to support me on this, cos you were there
48:13and you know how difficult it was.
48:15How many hours did it take us just to design the first card?
48:18I thought I was working hard. I did everything.
48:20Trust me, I'm wise enough and old enough to know
48:23when people are ganging up on somebody,
48:25so I kind of discount 75% of what I'm hearing
48:29and try and look through the mist.
48:31Claire?
48:32Yes, Sir Alan?
48:34Who should get fired?
48:36I think Sara should be fired because of her lack of contribution.
48:39Sara Appreciation Society today.
48:41Kevin?
48:42Yes.
48:43Who should be fired?
48:44If I was going to fire someone, Sir Alan, I would fire...
48:52..Sara.
48:53Right.
48:54Which two are you bringing back in the boardroom with you?
48:57I'm going to bring Sara and Claire.
49:00Sara and Claire coming back in.
49:02You two, go back to the house.
49:04You three, go and wait outside and I'll call you back in shortly.
49:09But, I mean, basically, Kevin is not mature enough to understand
49:13that sometimes you've got in your midst somebody
49:16who can actually do something better than you.
49:20And there is an art in recognising that sometimes, you know?
49:24Claire, well, you know, she's a buyer.
49:29Why she didn't step in and try and save him, I don't know.
49:33But we'll have to find out.
49:39PHONE RINGS
49:42Hello?
49:43Yeah, Frances, send the three of them in, please.
49:45Yes, Sir Alan.
49:47Sir Alan's ready for you now.
50:03Kevin, what's Claire doing here?
50:07Claire's here, Sir Alan,
50:09because I feel she's got an awful lot of commercial experience
50:13that I don't have.
50:15And I'm not trying to say that I'm blaming Claire.
50:19I just feel that Claire had...
50:21You brought her back into the boardroom?
50:23Yes. The reason I've brought her in is I feel that with her experience,
50:26she could have, at the earlier stage,
50:28recognised that the product that we were selling
50:30may not be good for the marketplace.
50:33Jenny is the one that innovated it.
50:35In my opinion, I would have quite understood her sitting there
50:38better than Claire, quite frankly.
50:40Claire, I don't know why you,
50:45as the most qualified, I think, in the retail environment,
50:49didn't step up and just take over.
50:52I also don't understand placing the blame with Sarah.
50:56My only comment is that for the last three tasks,
50:59Sarah, after the task, has said,
51:02but I wasn't allowed to vocalise it.
51:04Can I just ask you one question?
51:06Do you feel we failed this task,
51:08not because of the design idea,
51:10of the fact that you can't sell these cars,
51:12not because of the pitch,
51:14but because I was working on a day where you weren't even near me...
51:17OK, the point you're making is,
51:19what is the reason for losing the task?
51:23Was it the pitch, the poor pitch you gave to the retailers,
51:27or is it the bad idea?
51:31So therefore, why do you say she should be fired in this task?
51:34Because Sarah says that she's come up with some very good ideas, Sir Alan,
51:38that she didn't ever raise with me at any point in time.
51:41You've answered my question a long time ago,
51:43and I'll put the same question to you, Claire.
51:46I believe we failed the task because the theme was wrong.
51:50So why is Jenny not in this room?
51:52I've got no idea. It was Kevin.
51:54Jenny, from start to finish, worked very hard.
51:57She was very creative.
51:59Very hard on a poor idea.
52:02Very hard she railroaded you into doing this.
52:04She didn't railroad me because I couldn't be railroaded.
52:06She did. I think she ran this bloody task.
52:08No, she didn't, Sir Alan, because I had complete control of my team.
52:12She did certainly not railroad me into anything.
52:15We, as a team, decided the theme.
52:18Kevin, you're sinking in my eyes, young man.
52:21Tell me, in less than 1,000 words, why I shouldn't fire you.
52:25You will not get any more hard-working, self-determined, loyal person than me,
52:31and I would love you to give me the opportunity to show you one more time...
52:35I've given you the opportunity and this task, and it was a bloody mess.
52:39And I've made a mistake.
52:41Sarah, I have a worry. I do have a worry.
52:44All I've seen you do is moan.
52:46Claire, we've had our run-ins before in this ballroom.
52:52It is regretful that what you've learnt in the past six weeks does help you in your future.
52:58In particular, perhaps stepping up and taking over where you are more expert.
53:05However, Kevin, this whole task turned out a fiasco,
53:11and as team leader, I hold you totally responsible.
53:15Kevin, you're fired.
53:22MUSIC
53:31Off you go back to the house, and I'll see you on the next task.
53:39It is a big issue, but it's not marketable, and that's why they made the mistake.
53:44I think he talked himself into his departure, to be quite frank.
53:51MUSIC
54:00It's a massive blow, and I feel quite angry that there's people in the house
54:05that I feel should not be there.
54:09Tonight, I truly believe that Sarah should have been fired.
54:14I'm very disappointed, but there's nothing I can do about it now.
54:22Who's coming back?
54:24Kevin would be the one I would fire.
54:27No way, mate. But not Sarah? No way, mate.
54:34That's Kevin. Tata!
54:36How are you? Is that it? Oh, my God. Yeah.
54:40Fucking helped you get out of the fucking boardroom!
54:43Kevin did get himself in circles,
54:45and to be brief, I think his arrogance cost him his place.
54:49There's absolutely no way that Kevin should be fired this evening.
54:52It's a complete and utter travesty,
54:54and I think that Sarah's made the wrong decision, in my opinion.
54:58If I'm project manager next time, and I've got to manage people like Sarah,
55:02I want to know what I'm managing.
55:04If four people out of five thought you didn't contribute,
55:07how are you sitting on that sofa?
55:09We worked as a team. I did get involved in the market research side of things.
55:13The fact of it is, if you don't perform, you're out. Simple as that.
55:18If you don't step up to the mark, you're going in the boardroom. Simple as that.
55:22End of story.
55:26We're putting her on fire. This is a reliving of the boardroom.
55:30You don't need to answer these questions.
55:32A decision has been made. Sir Alan has made it.
55:35We do not need to fire questions at her as to why she did and why she didn't do anything.
55:41Rafe, it's my opinion. If I want to ask my opinion...
55:43I don't think you should ask them.
55:45Did Sarah's lack of contribution mean you failed the task?
55:49No, it didn't.
55:51In future, I'll take the low-risk option, the easy option,
55:56that will guarantee that I can not work as a team member,
55:59and I can just say, right, I was responsible for this tiny proportion.
56:03It's all about doing your bit and doing the rest of it.
56:06Claire, you've done enough. You've done it well enough, man.
56:09You've done fantastically.
56:15One job. Now ten.