"The Office Values" and "Realising Potential"

In 2004, Microsoft UK commissioned two 20-minute corporate videos featuring David Brent (Ricky Gervais) being interviewed by Jeff (Stephen Merchant), a Microsoft employee who becomes increasingly exasperated by Brent's antics. The ongoing theme is Brent's obvious resentment at the company's success. Brent also appears to believe he has what it takes to become the next managing director of Microsoft and continually drops hints to that effect.

Ricky and Steve agreed to produce the videos on the condition that they were never released to the public. They did not want to fuel rumours that David Brent might make a comeback after being retired when The Office came to an end [1]. However, the videos emerged on the internet in 2006. They were posted on both YouTube (from which they were later removed) and Google Video. The clips also appeared on certain peer-to-peer networks. Microsoft were unhappy with the leak, stating that the videos "were never intended to be viewed by the public" [2] and started an investigation into how the videos were leaked.

External Links

The Office Values on Google Video
Realising Potential on Google Video