Top 5 Office Pranks in Pop Art History

We work pretty hard at Pop Art. There are late nights, and there are late nights. Booze sometimes takes the edge off, but where to turn when sobriety is your only friend, and there’s stress you need to relieve? Laughter is the best medicine, and it’s best enjoyed at a co-worker’s expense.

5. Jello Stapler

VP of Client Services Reshma Taufiq is one of Pop Art’s greatest pranksters. Any computer left unattended is at risk when Reshma notices, and her all-staff e-mails on behalf of her co-workers are infamous. Here’s one she sent posing as the fair-complected Anton Legoo shortly after her return from sunny Thailand:

Subject: Has anyone noticed that my skin is glowing?

I went to a new spa yesterday to start tanning treatments, and they talked me into a new type of facial which involves a mayonnaise rub. It cost me a lot of money. Can anyone tell the difference?

Glowingly yours,
Anton

So when Reshma left the country for a wedding, Copywriter Kevin Platt took the absence as a chance at retribution, recycling a prank from the television series, “The Office.” Here’s Reshma’s stapler encased in Jello.

4. The “New” Office Chair

When former UI Designer Ryan Parr started at Pop Art, the seating situation was somewhat dismal (it’s since improved dramatically). His desk chair was (un)lovingly referred to as “the fart chair,” for the strange sounds it emitted when sat upon. It was tattered and frayed, and probably pretty uncomfortable. He pleaded with everyone who would listen about requisitioning a new one, but other items took priority. As his pleas grew louder, so did the opportunity for a prank. Finally, the chair was ordered, but unfortunately for Mr. Parr, his new chair arrived when he was on vacation.

The box showed up the day before he returned, and the creative team decided to open it, not to ease their co-worker’s transition back to work, but to wreak havoc on his sanity. Each piece was carefully removed from the box, and packaging set aside. When all the parts had been removed, we began disassembling his old chair. Part by part, we packaged up the old seat, the old armrests, even the individual wheels, wrapping them in the new chair’s packaging. We re-sealed the box, and placed it at his desk where the old seat had stood. The new chair’s pieces were secreted throughout the office, and the setup was complete.

When Ryan came to work the next day and saw the box, he knew exactly what it was – his long-hoped-for chair. Before even turning on his computer, he set to work unpacking the chair. His brow grew more furrowed as each “new” piece emerged. The prank finally became apparent when the seat emerged – there was no confusing the tattered cushion inside with something new, and the office erupted in laughter as the joke slowly dawned on him.

3. Tinfoil Desk

Before the holiday break in 2009, Designer Anton Legoo spent more time in the office than he did at home as he worked on launching four or five massive projects. His time off was much-deserved, and he used the office closures to his advantage, taking off almost two weeks in late December and early January. Unfortunately, one of his co-workers was still in the office. Kevin Platt spent several hours on December 23rd encasing Anton’s entire desk in tinfoil, even wrapping individual objects in the stuff to take the prank to its highest level. His keyboard, mouse, stapler, pen caddy, and even the individual Post-It notes that typically surround his screens were wrapped. It took two full rolls of foil, and the resulting ball of foil after the covering had been dismantled was 18 inches in diameter.

2. Dressing as Your Boss

Halloween is traditionally a dress-up day at Pop Art, and we’ve had staff come dressed as everyone from Wonder Woman to a life-size margarita. In 2009, Kevin Platt (apparently the biggest office prankster … hmm) dressed as someone not so famous … Me. He colored his hair grey with baby powder, found a solid-color v-neck sweater, and even acquired some “designer-y” glasses. The resemblance is … disturbing.

1. 9,999 Luftballoons

While it’s clear that pranking is deeply ingrained in Pop Art’s culture, birthdays aren’t really as big of a deal. We go out for lunch to celebrate, but they’re generally not observed. Unless that birthday is an opportunity for a prank. So when CEO/Owner Steve Rosenbaum hit his 30th birthday, we decided to get him a gift. A gift that would keep on giving for days. You see, hundreds of helium-filled balloons looks like a nice way to commemorate your birthday, but as Isaac Newton so wisely discovered, what goes up must come down. You can’t fight gravity, and the real hilarity ensued when the helium-filled orbs began their descent. At first it was one at a time, but as the days passed, the balloons began to cover his office floor. He spent an afternoon popping them one by one, and as each “pop” sounded, the smiles in the office grew larger.