WHAT do chickens in hi-viz jackets, luxury dog beds, one of the UK’s best-loved poets and an enthusiastic “sales” person in an 80s power suit have in common?
Weirdly, they all appeared in one of the most random episodes of The Apprentice this week.
But while the chickens made it safely across the road – despite an “incident” on the table – and the sleeping dogs lay in their cozy beds it was not to be for Ruth as she was shown the door, somewhat unceremoniously as Selina escaped by the skin of her sharpened teeth.
Is Lord Sugar going soft? Who in their right minds would want to get rid of someone who starts the day with a healthy shake and sings “alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic” at every given opportunity? Clearly, enthusiasm doesn’t count for much in the boardroom these days, which is a shame. OK, she wasn’t going to win but Ruth’s zest for life will be sadly missed in the rest of the series while the rest of us have to put up with catty looks from Selina and boring blokes proving their mettle for macho – and there’s not a lot of that.
This year’s series of The Apprentice has yet to hit its stride but the potential for a classic is there and last night’s episode was the best yet. There is nothing better than the lack of sales of high-end products at a massive trade show to show up the candidates for who they really are. While Team Versatile wagged their tails with glee after landing the animal balloon and t-shirts, plus those garish pooch parlours, Team Connexus (Ruth’s team) thought they were onto a winner with all things cat but at Lord Sugar so quaintly put it, “you don’t get nine lives in the boardroom”.
This much is sadly true and a lack of sales for Ruth meant she was the one leaving with her tail between her legs while Selina can sharpen her claws for next week’s showdown over kid’s books. “No more Mrs Nice Guy,” Selina boldly claimed. We didn’t realise she was being nice!
Hats off this week though to Mr Enthusiasm, David Stevenson who engaged with the products as they cantered into the room and blew the competition away with his balloon-blowing though his t-shirt sales technique could do with some fine-tuning.
It’s far too early to pick a winner but the early runners and riders who have fallen have been the right choices – apart from Ruth. We are looking forward to the inevitable firing of Brett who will come a cropper soon, as will Selina.
But let’s take another moment to stare in awe at Ruth’s incredible fashion sense:
Wonderful.
Check out Happy’s alternative guide to The Apprentice here and stay tuned for more Sugar-coated blogs over the coming weeks.
Nick Hyde is PR & Content Manager at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
