New Advertising sitcom

Oh dear, I hope this isn't what I'm studying for, looks awful, will have to ask Gareth how realistic it is when the sitcom comes out



"From the makers of the award-winning series, The Inbetweeners, and debut screenwriter, Jonathan Thake, comes new British sitcom, The Persuasionists."

They continue:

"The sitcom focuses on the lives of five overpaid and underworked employees at fictional advertising agency HHH&H.

The uncontrollable urge-bag Keaton peruses the workplace for new conquests – everyone he hasn’t already had. Billy, the intelligent underachiever, indulges in his role as the office menace. Spoilt neurotic Emma would like to break the glass ceiling, but only if it doesn’t damage her lovely hair. Boss Clive, the most Australian man on the planet, exults in his position as the resplendently ridiculous manager. The hopeless, witless and feckless Greg is the eager Account Director desperately aspiring to be as ambitious and amoral as his colleagues.

Over the course of the series viewers will witness the five advertising degenerates battle their way through a variety of scenarios from having to sell a brown smelly ‘cockney cheese’ for a disillusioned, aggressive and frightening cockney client. Issues of beauty are tackled in episode two, as Emma becomes the ‘Head of Handsomeness’ and creates the ‘corridor of beauty’, placing the uglier colleagues in the boiler room. Later in the series Keaton, the Head of Global, becomes impotent as he learns that women are “somehow human too”. Keaton and Billy engage on a war of being impractical and battle it out to prove they are not mature and sensible. Emma embraces the new ‘Diet Stuff’ drink a little too enthusiastically and begins protesting against obesity. Billy experiences the frustration of writer’s block and Keaton sets out to steal his colleagues’ happiness."

Let's hope it's better than the last agency-set sitcom that I vaguely remember. Can't remember the name but I vaguely recall something unfunny with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Leslie Ash.

The one reliably hilarious advertising 'sitcom' is always the bit in The Apprentice when the candidates are sent to work with a 'top' agency and end up producing stuff that a ten year old would be embarrassed to post on YouTube. It's always interesting to see who will manage to make themselves look more foolish - the candidates or the agency 'experts'.

The Persuasionists starts on BBC2 next wednesday at 10.00 pm.

http://wklondon.typepad.com/welcome_to_optimism/2010/01/new-advertising-sitcom-coming-to-bbc2.html

http://www.taylorherring.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/the-advertising-industry-gets-the-sitcom-treatment/