Being in the fiercely competitive environment of Fortune, the
departments and teams pitted against each other to see who could spread the
most Christmas cheer. For two weeks each
team devised, strategized and sometimes even sabotaged plans to come up with
the most colourful, creative (and winning!) idea possible.
Hear our masterpieces:
1.
A Very White Christmas
I’m dreaming, of a white, Christmas…Just like the ones I used to
know…..Where the treetops glisten with toilet paper. Wait?! What?! Not that
kind of White Christmas. This is red neck, BOGAN Christmas! This team turned
their aisle into a trailer park with neon flashing lights in the shape of some savory objects. To add to the decor, tacky Christmas decorations
were dispersed throughout including mounted plastic reindeer heads, draped green
and red tinsel and their most prized possession; a giant inflatable Santa Claus gurgling out the Christmas songs we all know and
love: “Walmart Wonderland”, "Jingle Coins” , "Help Yourself to a Marie Christ
Mas” and “All I Want for Christmas is Mo Bling”. In addition to the decorations the employees
also dressed in their finest. Pit-stained wife-beaters with tobaccy and beer
stains running down the front and a big ol’ smile, missing teeth and all!
2.
Naughty and Nice
This team had two rows fully dedicated to each cause. The “naughty” row took on a freakish
Hollowmas theme. A skeleton wearing a
Santa Claus hat hung limply from a bough of tinsel with its head stuck in trash
can with empty rum bottles scattered around. Pictures of naughty political leaders hung from
the ceiling: Silvio Berlusconi, Elliot Spitzer, William Jefferson, Bill
Clinton, Nixon, Tom DeLay etc . (they definitely didn’t get any presents). At
the end of the aisle, a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree, compiled from
recently cut Eucalyptus limbs, had coke cans, empty cigarette cartons, and 12
dead partridges as its apparel. The
desks, ceilings and floor were completely covered with brown paper. The patrons
of this row were also in on the gig. The
women dressed as burlesque Santa helpers and the men were dressed completely in black. One of them even dressed as “bad” Santa.
The “nice” aisle was the complete opposite. It had colourful lights and decorations
hanging from the ceiling, desks wrapped in colourful wrapping paper and a 15
foot tall Christmas tree at the end of the row decorated with precious
ornaments, boxes tied with string underneath and boughs of tinsel wrapped with love around the tree. The employees of this row wore outfits of red,
green and gold.
3.
Superheroes
This team, which never fulfils their target, having had enough of being
the butt-end of all the work gossip and chatter decided that some grandiose and
drastic measures were needed to turn the team around. Being a bit of a psych person, the manager decided
that Robert K. Merton’s theory of “self-fulfilling
prophecy” should be put into practice.
Every member of the team dressed as a superhero with their individual
desks decked out as their lair. Heroes
included: Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk, Batman, Wonder Woman, Banana Man,
Catwoman, She-Ra and Green Lantern. Surprisingly,
none of them were dressed as Fortune 500 heroes (maybe this explains their
performance?) I guess we will find out at the end of the half if this had any
effect on crime in the area….
4. The Twelve Personalities of Santa
Did you know that Santa Claus has dissociative identity disorder? How
else could a man be accepted so widely and unconditionally in society who:
- Lives in the only environment people can not
- Uses “magic” to sneak into people’s houses
- Believes reindeer can fly
- Can travel in a one-horse open sleigh laden with hundreds of millions of gifts
- Invites children to sit on his lap
- Lives solely on cookies and milk
Anyhow, I digress….. This group
decided to represent each of the places where a Santa Claus exists.
Germany- Saint Nikolaus
The Netherlands- Sinterklaas
China- Dun Che Lao Ren
Italy- La Befana
France- Pere Noel
Belgium- Kerstman
Chile- Viejo
Pascuero
Afghanistan- Baba
Chaghaloo
Albania- Babadimri
Finland-
Joulupukki
Hawaii- Kanakaloka
Poland- Swiety
Mikolaj
Needless to say, the office
looked like a volcano erupted with Christmas. There were so many lights,
wrapping paper, tinsel and themes I’m sure it was a fire hazard. So who was
able to spread the most Christmas cheer? Vote now!
Merry Christmas J
