Finally, A Leak You Can Believe In
Microsoft is very, very upset that training videos featuring Ricky Gervais have been released to the web. How is this different than the BBC being very very upset about Dr. Who being uploaded, or various producers being upset that their unsold pilots made their way to the web and got enough attention to sell the pilots? Well, in this case I don’t think Microsoft itself released the material.
The videos, which are described as “light-hearted”, feature Gervais as his David Brent character from THE OFFICE giving appalling corporate survival tips, such as the best ways to use company resources when sending out resumes and when is the right time and place to have office sex. According to a corporate spokesperson (charactaristically anonymous) the videos were comissioned in 2002 and never intended to be seen by the public. And why would they? Microsoft has nothing to gain except a slight PR boost, but they really don’t have the image problem of being stuffy. Their image is one of rapacious evil. It’s better for Microsoft to have these brilliant videos only available on the inside, so they can lure in unsuspecting job candidates.
So finally, you can enjoy downloading a video without the guilty feeling that you’re participating in a viral marketing campaign!