Latest news with #KevinMalone
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Contractor sues owner of new Chili's over unpaid invoices
SCRANTON — A local construction firm is suing the owner of the recently opened Office-themed Chili's in Dickson City for over $100,000 in unpaid invoices. But, in a formal response, Chili's owners say they did not request the additional work in question be done and they were billed at an inflated rate for that additional work. Chili's Grill & Bar opened on April 7 at 3905 Commerce Blvd., shortly after completion of construction. The Texas-based casual dining chain's first Lackawanna County location drew a lot of interests from fans of 'The Office,' which repeatedly referenced the restaurant in its NBC mockumentary set in Scranton — even though there was never a Chili's in the real Scranton. Brian Baumgartner, who played accountant Kevin Malone on 'The Office,' and Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, pose in front of the Chili's Scranton Branch chalk mural that will greet diners in Dickson City. (COURTESY OF CHILI'S) Lawsuit filed In a lawsuit filed on April 23 in Lackawanna County Court against Chili's owner MSP Properties of Pennsylvania, Don Scartelli Construction Services and General Contractors Inc. claims their firm did work beyond the initial proposal at the request of MSP Properties. According to the lawsuit: Scartelli Construction accepted numerous requests from MSP to do additional work through phone calls, texts and emails and it performed that work on weekends, during emergencies and in challenging winter weather conditions. Scartelli submitted invoices for the additional work, by mutual agreement of both parties. 'The nature and kind of work that was finished by Scartelli Construction includes, but is not limited to, furnishing and installing silt socks, supply and installation of subbase, storm water pipe repairs, saw cutting . . and removal of old paving and subbase,' the suit states. Owner Don Scartelli is requesting the court grant his company 'an amount in excess of $104,783, plus interest, attorneys' fees, costs and other relief as the court deems equitable and just.' MSP Properties, however, tells a different story about the terms of the original proposal and of additional work performed. MSP denies Scartelli made additional requests by phone, text or emails. It also denies Scartelli was granted 'carte blanche' when it came to additional labor and material costs. In their legal response to Scartelli's lawsuit, MSP alleges Scartelli Construction completed work without MSP's approval or involvement and that Scartelli 'unilaterally performed and invoiced the defendant for services and at a grossly inflated rate.' MSP also takes issue with Scartelli's assertion that work was performed on an emergency basis, on the weekend or in challenging winter weather conditions. On the contrary, Scartelli wasn't authorized to perform work outside the scope of the original proposal unless both parties agreed to the work and its cost before invoices were issued, MSP alleged their official response. MSP alleges Scartelli committed fraud by billing outside the scope of the original agreement at a 'grossly inflated rates.' MSP claims it 'is justified in non payment of the fraudulent invoices.'
TechCrunch
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
Meet LoveJack, the dating app designed for users to find love using just five words
As Kevin Malone from 'The Office' once said, 'Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?' For Julia LeStage and Lisa Le, the creators of a new dating app called LoveJack, finding love online doesn't have to feel like filling out a mountain of paperwork. Sometimes, all you need are a few carefully chosen words to spark a connection. LoveJack profiles look like those on other blind dating apps, but with a twist. Instead of blurred or hidden profiles, users see five words chosen by potential matches. When users press and hold on their phone screens (the app doesn't use swiping mechanics), profile pictures are then revealed. The five words can be anything from personal traits and jokes to current feelings or even random details, such as the ingredients in their lunch sandwich— an entertaining tactic that we saw one beta user try during our testing. The idea is that the five-word constraint allows users to be creative while also challenging them to be concise and clever, encouraging more witty conversations and moving away from mundane questions like 'What do you do for a living?' or overused pickup lines. LeStage and Le decided to create LoveJack after being frustrated with the way online dating profiles often resemble job resumes—complete with posed photos, filters, and carefully crafted bios that can feel exaggerated. 'This is not LinkedIn. Where has the fun gone?' LeStage told TechCrunch, reflecting a sentiment shared by many online daters, which may explain why dating giants like Tinder have faced challenges in recent quarters. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW LeStage got the idea while working as a judge for the Webby Awards, which notoriously limits winners to five-word speeches. The app also takes inspiration from The New York Times' popular Wordle game. She shared with us that when she re-entered the dating scene, apps sucked the fun out of the experience, noting that traditional platforms emphasize superficial judgments based on appearance. So she decided to use the five-word challenge on her dates to spice things up, which helped her realize that people tended to use words that 'advertised' their way of thinking. 'It's the stories behind the words that matter,' LeStage explained. For instance, she spoke with someone who mentioned the word 'disco.' When she asked him more about it, she discovered that he had written about the history of disco. 'I was like, 'Well, aren't you Mr. Interesting?'' she said. LoveJack co-founders Julia LeStage (left) and Lisa Le (right) Image Credits:LoveJack Other standout features include the options to either 'Bet On' or 'Hold' a match. Betting is similar to liking a profile, but the key difference is that users must place a bet by entering a five-word opening line. This gives the match something interesting to respond to. Users are limited to a maximum of five matches per day, so they need to be strategic in their choices. This is where LoveJack's 'Hold' feature comes into play, allowing users to bookmark a profile if they're unsure about someone. Additionally, the five-word descriptions can be updated every day, adding a social aspect to the app. LoveJack archives all previous entries, allowing users to scroll through everything they've written. 'You can see in real time, day to day, how they're revealing themselves through their five-word updates…Your story is going to change every day, all day, like your mood and the weather,' LeStage added. In the future, there will also be a premium subscription that will include an 'All In' button, the app's version of a 'Super Like,' but in this case, it'll use all five bets on one person so they can't match with anyone else for the rest of the day. When it comes to unmatching someone, LoveJack says it tries to minimize ghosting by requiring users to write a preset message when they set up their profiles. The goodbye note is automatically sent to anyone they unmatch. Another interesting aspect of LoveJack profiles is that users are encouraged to use fake names to protect their identities. While using pseudonyms on dating platforms is common, it can elicit mixed reactions from users. Some individuals may question the authenticity of potential matches, while others might prefer to keep their personal details private until they become more familiar with the other person. LoveJack states that it implements a selfie verification process to confirm that the person behind the profile is indeed who they claim to be. Other safety features include reporting and blocking capabilities, as well as censorship of banned language and explicit photos, and an emergency feature that enables users to contact the police and safety hotlines. (These features were unavailable during our beta testing but are expected to be included in the official version.) LoveJack is set to launch its iOS app next month. It'll launch in London first, with plans to roll out to U.S. markets next, including Boston, New York, San Francisco, and others. An Android version of the app will launch in India in late summer. Starting today, users can join the waiting list for early access by signing up at
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GameStop Falls 22% After Bitcoin Announcement and Spike in Short Selling
GameStop (NYSE:GME) dropped 22% on March 27 after revealing plans to invest in Bitcoin (BTC-USD), triggering a surge in short selling and activating a short sale restriction on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had briefly risen 12% after the announcement but reversed course as short volume jumped 234%, totaling nearly 31 million sharesits second-largest one-day spike, according to TradingView. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with GME. The drop triggered the restriction rule after shares fell more than 10% from the prior close. Kevin Malone, CEO of Malone Wealth, claimed on X that trading volumes pointed to possible naked short selling. GameStop also announced a $1.3 billion convertible notes offering, drawing analyst pushback. Tom Sosnoff, CEO of Tastylive, said the move looked like a fallback after failing to find better investments. The Bitcoin move drew comparisons to Strategy's (NASDAQ:MSTR) 2021 play. But analysts said GameStop's struggling business makes it a riskier bet. Wedbush's Michael Pachter questioned why investors would pay double the company's cash just for crypto exposure. The reaction highlights investor doubts about GameStop's direction in the digital asset space. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why fans are still coming to 'The Office' 20 years later
Brian Baumgartner, who played the endearingly dim-witted accountant Kevin Malone on NBC's 'The Office,' can't escape the role that defined him for nine seasons. He even recently appeared in an episode of the NBC drama 'Suits LA,' playing himself. In the show, he asked his attorney to find a way to do away with the character so he could realize his dream of becoming an Oscar-worthy dramatic actor. Loyal "Office" fans surely caught the inside gag. In fact, Baumgartner has for years served as a happy ambassador for the beloved mockumentary about the employees of a Scranton, Penn., paper company. He hosted a podcast celebrating 'The Office' and turned it into a best-selling oral history book. Kevin Malone's famous chili paved the way for two cookbooks. Many hit shows from decades ago have been embraced by audiences thanks to exposure on Netflix and other streaming platforms. But even among that group, "The Office" — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary — lives in rare air. While never a blockbuster hit during its initial run that began on March 24, 2005, streaming has helped turn "The Office," an adaptation of the eponymous British series, into an enduring pop culture touchstone. The familiar cast members have ridden the wave, evoking their famous roles in TV commercials for Cheerios, Panera Bread, Bush's Beans, Fox's telecast of the 2020 Super Bowl and AT&T Business. The show is being licensed for toys (Lego, Little People, Funko Pop! and Polly Pockets) and children's books including "The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary." Tickets for an annual unofficial fan convention known as the Reunion, to be held in New Jersey this year, go for as much as $400. Read more: A mutilated CPR dummy. A cat crashing through the ceiling. Inside one of 'The Office's' best episodes "The Office" continues to have a stylistic influence on TV comedy as well. Its faux-documentary style — reminiscent of Christopher Guest movies — became a template for other successful sitcoms including "Modern Family," "Abbott Elementary" and most recently NBC's "St. Denis Medical." While fans have been content to rewatch "The Office," they will finally get a spin-off series from executive producer Greg Daniels. The still-to-be-named series, set at a Midwestern newspaper that depends on citizen journalists, will premiere this year on Peacock. The series will take place in "The Office" universe with alum Oscar Nuñez joining the cast. (Daniels, protective of "The Office" canon, noted that Oscar Martinez was the only character who did not have a life-changing resolution in the finale). Baumgartner has helped feed "The Office" popularity machine for years, but he's still taken aback at how much the show means to fans who have discovered it since it ended. 'They have an intense need to tell me how the show helped them through a difficult time,' Baumgartner told The Times. 'A medical condition, a family issue, a domestic problem. It's a very powerful thing.' Even with its cringe-generating moments, often created by Steve Carell's malapropism-prone Michael Scott, the familial atmosphere of Dunder Mifflin is a welcome escape at a time of political division and angry social discourse. "In this fractured society, just seeing and feeling a disparate group of people who care about each other is rare, particularly in TV right now," Baumgartner said. While streaming services entered bidding wars for "Friends," "Seinfeld" and other hit sitcoms of the past, 'The Office' quietly outperformed them. Nielsen data showed it was the most streamed show in 2020, a time when more consumers were turning to Netflix, where "The Office" was streaming, during the COVID-19 pandemic. That demand translated into a big-money deal. Comcast Corp. shelled out $100 million to its own Universal Television unit that produced "The Office" to bring the series to its Peacock streaming service in 2021 — five times what Netflix was paying, according to people familiar with the deal who were not authorized to comment publicly. Read more: How NBC's 'Must See TV' risk takers of the '90s are still launching groundbreaking TV The series is the most popular program on the service. NBC says the average Peacock viewer has watched 59 episodes of the series. Peacock enlisted the show's producers to create 'super fan' episodes that restore material cut for its original 22 minute broadcast run-time (they are just getting to the ninth and final season). They have helped drive 1.7 billion hours of viewing of "The Office," accounting for 7% of all Peacock usage. 'The Office' has also remained a staple of traditional TV, currently running on three cable networks: E!, Comedy Central and Freeform. With cable networks cutting back on original programming, "The Office" reruns are filling up hours of their schedules. The show airs on more than a dozen international broadcast services. The durability of vintage TV sitcoms such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Friends' are driven in part by the nostalgia of fans who grew up with them. But some audiences flocking to the 'The Office' are discovering as if it were a new show. As streaming video gained audience, Daniels heard from co-workers on his other projects about how their preteen kids were watching "The Office" obsessively on Netflix which first bought the rights in 2011. Being trapped in a cubicle and forced to deal with a buffoonish boss resonates with the junior high crowd. 'It's like your experience in school, when the teacher is lecturing you and you're unable to avoid it," Daniels said. "Or the person at the desk next to you is someone you didn't necessarily choose to be your best friend and you're kind of stuck there.' Jim Donnelly, executive vice president for comedy at Universal Television, said the show's youthful appeal helps replenish the audience. "I do think that as television viewers come of age, they are finding the show," he said. "We haven't really seen any drop-off in interest." Daniels says the show still feels contemporary after two decades. The British version of "The Office" — created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant — was shot with a Frederick Wiseman-like bleakness. But Daniels gave the U.S. edition the look of a reality show format. He hired the director of photography from the crew of "Survivor" after "The Office" pilot was picked up. The practical jokes on the show appeal to a younger generation that devours prank videos — from MrBeast to Dude Perfect — across YouTube and other social media platforms. The official TikTok account for "The Office" has 4.2 million followers, nearly 1 million more than "Friends." The enduring success of "The Office" is remarkable considering the show's rocky start. "A single camera sitcom, shot as a faux documentary with no laugh track with people who look normal in the age of 'Friends' and 'Baywatch,' was not an easy pitch," said Ben Silverman, who brought the program to NBC. (Silverman currently runs the production company Propagate.) Read more: How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Leslie David Baker 'The Office' was created in another era of television, when reaching broad audiences was necessary for network TV survival. The show was vying for a spot on the schedule at a time when NBC had lost its mega-hit 'Friends' and had pinned its hopes on "Joey," a spin-off featuring Matt LeBlanc that struggled to get through two seasons. Jeff Zucker, who ran NBCUniversal at the time, admits the quirky comedy style of "The Office" pilot was not easy for his programming department to digest. "The folks at NBC Entertainment at the time were probably not the target in understanding the humor of the show," Zucker said in an interview. "The Office" had one real champion in upper management at the network: Kevin Reilly, the entertainment president who first received a pitch for the project when he was running cable network FX. Daniels didn't have the prestige TV snobs behind him either. Creating a U.S. version of the acclaimed 2001 British series was perilous. 'There was a lot of stress because fans of the original show were saying 'Why are you doing this? It's such a gem,' ' Daniels recalled. 'I would say, 'If you like this kind of comedy, this is the closest you're going to get.' ' The pilot was not well-received by test audiences, but showed enough of a pulse with younger viewers to earn a five episode order — an unusually small number at the time for a network show. Ratings declined after a decent audience for its premiere. Zucker said there were "long conversations" at the network before bringing the show back for a second year. But the show caught a couple major breaks. One was Carell's lead role in the summer box office hit 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' which turned him into a movie star and a draw for a show that avoided casting big name actors at the start. The other was NBC's decision to offer episodes on Apple's iTunes platform when DVD sets were the main way to binge-watch. The move was a precursor to the video-on-demand streaming world. Read more: Packing up 'The Office' for good While the 'Office' audience was small by network TV standards of the time, many of its viewers were young, upscale and more willing to adapt to new technology. In 2005, 'The Office' became a top seller on iTunes with 100,000 downloads in the first few months. "I think that told us that there was going to be a new way of delivering these shows," Zucker said. "Had 'The Office' started out on streaming, it would have been a huge hit right out of the box." Ash Tavassoli, executive vice president and creative director of ad agency BBDO LA never caught "The Office" during its network run. But when he was recovering from surgery he went down the series rabbit hole of 192 episodes. "I'm like, 'I can't turn this thing off,' " Tavassoli said. "I had to immediately tell anyone who I knew who hadn't watched it, 'You need to go watch this thing.' " The on-screen alchemy between the cast members inspired him to use them in an ad campaign for AT&T Business that started running last year. 'The Office' co-stars Baumgartner, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Craig Robinson, Kate Flannery and Creed Bratton appear in the series of trippy commercials depicting the launch of a line of pillow speakers called Sleep with Rainn. Tavassoli said it didn't take much to get the tight-knit group to make their own creative contributions to the spots. 'You put them on a set together and they have their own dynamic,' Tavassoli said. 'When we shot with them, they didn't even feel us on set. We let them cook for three days.' Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Why fans are still coming to ‘The Office' 20 years later
Brian Baumgartner, who played the endearingly dim-witted accountant Kevin Malone on NBC's 'The Office,' can't escape the role that defined him for nine seasons. He even recently appeared in an episode of the NBC drama 'Suits LA,' playing himself. In the show, he asked his attorney to find a way to do away with the character so he could realize his dream of becoming an Oscar-worthy dramatic actor. Loyal 'Office' fans surely caught the inside gag. In fact, Baumgartner has for years served as a happy ambassador for the beloved mockumentary about the employees of a Scranton, Penn., paper company. He hosted a podcast celebrating 'The Office' and turned it into a best-selling oral history book. Kevin Malone's famous chili paved the way for two cookbooks. Many hit shows from decades ago have been embraced by audiences thanks to exposure on Netflix and other streaming platforms. But even among that group, 'The Office' — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary — lives in rare air. While never a blockbuster hit during its initial run that began on March 24, 2005, streaming has helped turn 'The Office,' an adaptation of the eponymous British series, into an enduring pop culture touchstone. The familiar cast members have ridden the wave, evoking their famous roles in TV commercials for Cheerios, Panera Bread, Bush's Beans, Fox's telecast of the 2020 Super Bowl and AT&T Business. The show is being licensed for toys (Lego, Little People, Funko Pop! and Polly Pockets) and children's books including 'The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary.' Tickets for an annual unofficial fan convention known as the Reunion, to be held in New Jersey this year, go for as much as $400. 'The Office' continues to have a stylistic influence on TV comedy as well. Its faux-documentary style — reminiscent of Christopher Guest movies — became a template for other successful sitcoms including 'Modern Family,' 'Abbott Elementary' and most recently NBC's 'St. Denis Medical.' While fans have been content to rewatch 'The Office,' they will finally get a spin-off series from executive producer Greg Daniels. The still-to-be-named series, set at a Midwestern newspaper that depends on citizen journalists, will premiere this year on Peacock. The series will take place in 'The Office' universe with alum Oscar Nuñez joining the cast. (Daniels, protective of 'The Office' canon, noted that Oscar Martinez was the only character who did not have a life-changing resolution in the finale). Baumgartner has helped feed 'The Office' popularity machine for years, but he's still taken aback at how much the show means to fans who have discovered it since it ended. 'They have an intense need to tell me how the show helped them through a difficult time,' Baumgartner told The Times. 'A medical condition, a family issue, a domestic problem. It's a very powerful thing.' Even with its cringe-generating moments, often created by Steve Carell's malapropism-prone Michael Scott, the familial atmosphere of Dunder Mifflin is a welcome escape at a time of political division and angry social discourse. 'In this fractured society, just seeing and feeling a disparate group of people who care about each other is rare, particularly in TV right now,' Baumgartner said. While streaming services entered bidding wars for 'Friends,' 'Seinfeld' and other hit sitcoms of the past, 'The Office' quietly outperformed them. Nielsen data showed it was the most streamed show in 2020, a time when more consumers were turning to Netflix, where 'The Office' was streaming, during the COVID-19 pandemic. That demand translated into a big-money deal. Comcast Corp. shelled out $100 million to its own Universal Television unit that produced 'The Office' to bring the series to its Peacock streaming service in 2021 — five times what Netflix was paying, according to people familiar with the deal who were not authorized to comment publicly. The series is the most popular program on the service. NBC says the average Peacock viewer has watched 59 episodes of the series. Peacock enlisted the show's producers to create 'super fan' episodes that restore material cut for its original 22 minute broadcast run-time (they are just getting to the ninth and final season). They have helped drive 1.7 billion hours of viewing of 'The Office,' accounting for 7% of all Peacock usage. 'The Office' has also remained a staple of traditional TV, currently running on three cable networks: E!, Comedy Central and Freeform. With cable networks cutting back on original programming, 'The Office' reruns are filling up hours of their schedules. The show airs on more than a dozen international broadcast services. The durability of vintage TV sitcoms such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Friends' are driven in part by the nostalgia of fans who grew up with them. But some audiences flocking to the 'The Office' are discovering as if it were a new show. As streaming video gained audience, Daniels heard from co-workers on his other projects about how their preteen kids were watching 'The Office' obsessively on Netflix which first bought the rights in 2011. Being trapped in a cubicle and forced to deal with a buffoonish boss resonates with the junior high crowd. 'It's like your experience in school, when the teacher is lecturing you and you're unable to avoid it,' Daniels said. 'Or the person at the desk next to you is someone you didn't necessarily choose to be your best friend and you're kind of stuck there.' Jim Donnelly, executive vice president for comedy at Universal Television, said the show's youthful appeal helps replenish the audience. 'I do think that as television viewers come of age, they are finding the show,' he said. 'We haven't really seen any drop-off in interest.' Daniels says the show still fells contemporary after two decades. The British version of 'The Office' — created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant — was shot with a Frederick Wiseman-like bleakness. But Daniels gave the U.S. edition the look of a reality show format, complete with confessional interviews. He hired the film crew from 'Survivor' after 'The Office' pilot was picked up. The practical jokes on the show appeal to a younger generation that devours prank videos — from MrBeast to Dude Perfect — across YouTube and other social media platforms. The official TikTok account for 'The Office' has 4.2 million followers, nearly 1 million more than 'Friends.' The enduring success of 'The Office' is remarkable considering the show's rocky start. 'A single camera sitcom, shot as a faux documentary with no laugh track with people who look normal in the age of 'Friends' and 'Baywatch,' was not an easy pitch,' said Ben Silverman, who brought the program to NBC. (Silverman currently runs the production company Propagate.) 'The Office' was created in another era of television, when reaching broad audiences was necessary for network TV survival. The show was vying for a spot on the schedule at a time when NBC had lost its mega-hit 'Friends' and had pinned its hopes on 'Joey,' a spin-off featuring Matt LeBlanc that struggled to get through two seasons. Jeff Zucker, who ran NBCUniversal at the time, admits the quirky comedy style of 'The Office' pilot was not easy for his programming department to digest. 'The folks at NBC Entertainment at the time were probably not the target in understanding the humor of the show,' Zucker said in an interview. 'The Office' had one real champion in upper management at the network: Kevin Reilly, the entertainment president who first received a pitch for the project when he was running cable network FX. Daniels didn't have the prestige TV snobs behind him either. Creating a U.S. version of the acclaimed 2001 British series was perilous. 'There was a lot of stress because fans of the original show were saying 'Why are you doing this? It's such a gem,' ' Daniels recalled. 'I would say, 'If you like this kind of comedy, this is the closest you're going to get.' ' The pilot was not well-received by test audiences, but showed enough of a pulse with younger viewers to earn a six episode order — an unusually small number at the time for a network show. Ratings declined after a decent audience for its premiere. Zucker said there were 'long conversations' at the network before bringing the show back for a second year. But the show caught a couple major breaks. One was Carell's lead role in the summer box office hit 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' which turned him into a movie star and a draw for a show that avoided casting big name actors at the start. The other was NBC's decision to offer episodes on Apple's iTunes platform when DVD sets were the main way to binge-watch. The move was a precursor to the video-on-demand streaming world. While the 'Office' audience was small by network TV standards of the time, many of its viewers were young, upscale and more willing to adapt to new technology. In 2005, 'The Office' became a top seller on iTunes with 100,000 downloads in the first few months. 'I think that told us that there was going to be a new way of delivering these shows,' Zucker said. 'Had 'The Office' started out on streaming, it would have been a huge hit right out of the box.' Ash Tavassoli, executive vice president and creative director of ad agency BBDO LA never caught 'The Office' during its network run. But when he was recovering from surgery he went down the series rabbit hole of 192 episodes. 'I'm like, 'I can't turn this thing off,' ' Tavassoli said. 'I had to immediately tell anyone who I knew who hadn't watched it, 'You need to go watch this thing.' ' The on-screen alchemy between the cast members inspired him to use them in an ad campaign for AT&T Business that started running last year. 'The Office' co-stars Baumgartner, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Craig Robinson, Kate Flannery and Creed Bratton appear in the series of trippy commercials depicting the launch of a line of pillow speakers called Sleep with Rainn. Tavassoli said it didn't take much to get the tight-knit group to make their own creative contributions to the spots. 'You put them on a set together and they have their own dynamic,' Tavassoli said. 'When we shot with them, they didn't even feel us on set. We let them cook for three days.'
