While this week’s liveblog for The Apprentice was running, I was at the relaunch of Screen Cinema as Ireland’s first digital only arthouse cinema. So, I sadly missed all the bickering. Somehow, I managed to avoid hearing the result until yesterday when I finally got to watch it on TV3′s website.
First impressions of this week’s episode: embarrassing, embarrassing, embarrassing.
Down to just 7 contestants, we all know the personalities and foibles of each person, so the entertainment factor is certainly increased. Unfortunately, so too is the cringe factor, as every stupid thing they say, every awful faux pas is played out in full on screen. It’s like watching The Office, except it’s entertaining.
This week’s task was to design and market a device for measuring units of alcohol (wines, spirits and beers) for domestic use. Aoifffffe put herself forward as PM of Cúchulainn, while Steve wanted to prove himself this week after being effectively ignored in last week’s task - he lead Platinum.
From the off, there was tension between Aoiffffe and Geraldine again. The Breffmeister and Ruth completed Cúchulainn. and they set about creating the ‘Alcomeasure’. Yup - the ‘Alcomeasure’. That’s the name of their appealing, interesting devise for measuring units in the home and drinking responsibly. Regardless what it looked like, would you buy it with that name? And what does it look like? A kitchen measuring jug. There’s nothing unique, nothing innovative, nothing clever there at all. They didn’t even stick to the brief, as the jug can’t measure units of beer.
Of course, Platinum’s ‘Buddy’ wasn’t much better. Lucinda set about creating the device, designing the look, managing the artwork, making all the typos, etc. while Steve and Stephen were left to…… Hmmm, actually, what did they do?
The liveblog held a poll before the presentations started which had the Buddy ahead with 69% of the live blog readers thinking it was better than “the one with no beer” (31%).
Teams were required to pitch three times: to O’Brien’s Off Licences, to SuperValu and to Spar. This week, I are mostly impressed by…the customers. Malachy Hambury and Suzanne Weldon from Spar grilled Platinum on VAT and the childish design of Buddy, while Brendan O’Brien and Denis Smith from O’Briens criticised Cúchulainn’s poor packaging design and the fact that their Alcomeasure could easily fall over.
Here’s my summary of the presentations. Prepare to cringe:
In the boardroom, Bill pulled no punches. He was very critical of pricing from both teams and was less than impressed with both PMs. Geraldine got a particular grilling for not pushing her objections better, while Aoiffffe was criticised for almost everything. In the end, Platinum’s Buddy won out thanks to O’Brien’s sample order of 560 units. 
In truth, neither team deserved to win. Breffny was given a reprieve this week as PM Aoiffffe brought Ruth and Geraldine back into the boardroom with her.
Aoiffffe and Geraldine had a blazing row in front of Bill, Jackie and Brian, but this did nothing to distract from Ruth’s robotic demeanor, poor handling of the pricing and lack of people skills. Ruth O’Dowd was the 8th person to be sent home, leaving just 6 contestants remaining.
I’ve only just watched it today, I have to say the right team won despite their not-too-impressive product - at least they made an effort or ‘took a risk’ as they said themselves. They all seem to be too scared to do anything ‘different’ yet everyone knows that only something different and unique will stand out to people and to Bill.
I don’t know where they found this shower at all, so far none of them are a shining light for business people in Ireland are they?
@Niamh This series has been fantastic for the entertainment value, but I have to agree - these guys are morons.