Cult Movie Office Space Returns in Brass Idea's HipChat Spot

Brass Ideas, a new ad agency founded in San Francisco, this week unveiled a new campaign for Atlassian’s HipChat, a team communication tool that promises to revolutionize office work that pays homage to the Twentieth Century Fox cult movie classic, Office Space. The campaign features original cast member Gary Cole reprising his much loved role as Bill Lumbergh, the world’s worst boss

“Lumbergh is the ultimate symbol of being out-of-touch,” said Brass Ideas founder Andrew Clarke, a former head of strategy at major creative and media shops. “We’re using the celebrity of his character not only as an attention-getter, but to make a strategic point. That point is if you’re still working the way Bill is, something is very wrong indeed.”

The campaign includes several web videos directed by Tool’s JJ Adler, in addition to out of home placements and digital banners.

The video campaign makes it seem that Lumbergh has wandered into the wrong movie with his outdated enthusiasm for more and more meetings, crazy team building exercises that leave team members with shattered limbs and an absurd joy for bulky email threads. The work sweetly skewers the inefficiencies of outmoded ways of working that HipChat solves.

“Gary’s portrayal of Lumbergh is one of the primary reasons Office Space has struck such a chord with fans. We love the humorous nature and spirit of this campaign and feel it echoes the true spirit of the film, which has truly become a cult-favorite comedy.” said Cynthia Pascoe, Vice President of Global Promotions for Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products.

“This was a perfect partnership for us,” continued Clarke. “Atlassian is continuously innovating to create better ways of working. We’re doing the same thing with the agency model, using team communication tools like HipChat to change how we create and produce big ideas.”

Atlassian, the maker of Hipchat, recently valued at $3.3 billion, chose Brass Ideas ahead of major creative agencies. “We needed something more than the typical experience,” said Theresa McDermit, Head of Brand. “I needed a Ninja, someone different, to come up with something really creative and execute quickly and with very limited budget. Andrew’s creative track record, very deep tech experience and innovative model really gave us confidence.”

“In our approach, fewer, more senior people tailored to the specific needs of each client produce better and faster results,” says Clarke. The work for HipChat, which is available on YouTube and across the web, even drew praise from Cole himself: “Technology develops so quickly, I liked the idea of Lumbergh colliding with new ideas and being completely baffled. Plus, I had a random urge to wear suspenders and drink coffee from a labeled mug.”