We open on Sydney Roberts, co-owner of Roberts & Roberts advertising agency (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Andrew, an employee (played by Hamish Linklater) are auditioning kids for a cookie commercial. They tell them take a bite of the cookie, smile then spit into the bucket next to them so they don’t get full. We see a bunch of cute kids but they fool around and one spits at Sydney and Andrew NOT in the bucket.
Sydney goes upstairs on the elevator and when the doors open, Zach Cropper, another employee (played by James Wolk) tells Sydney that the McDonald's people are waiting for her father, Simon Roberts, in the conference room and he’s heard a rumor that they are there to fire them as their ad agency. Sydney asks where her father is and Lauren Slotsky, Simon’s assistant (played by Amanda Setton) says that he’s in his office and she’s been entertaining the McDonald’s people by “flashing a little leg.”
Sydney, Andrew, Zach and Lauren all go into Simon’s (played by Robin Williams) office and find him boxing with a human-sized mechanical robot. Sydney knocks the robot out due to frustration with her father. Simon then confesses that he’s hiding because Hannah, a member of the McDonald’s team is in there. Sydney knows that Simon had a relationship with Hannah in the past and it didn’t end well Still, Sydney encourages him to go to the conference room and deliver the “authenticity pitch,” which Simon thinks “sucks.” Sydney disagrees and thinks it will save the agency from being fired. She motivates Simon to go into the conference room, tell Zach to go with him, Andrew to get the presentation ready and Lauren to make sure he gets in there. Once they are alone, Lauren asks Simon if he wants to smell her hair for inspiration since her grandmother told her that men can be inspired from the scent of a woman’s hair. Simon does and is inspired.
Once inside the conference room, Sydney has started the pitch as Simon enters. It isn’t going well and Hannah Simon is about to tell Simon that McDonald’s is firing his agency. Suddenly, Simon looks at Sydney and gets an inspiration. He starts talking about the first time he took her to “Mickey D’s. Those were simpler times. I was flat broke but still had enough money to buy her a happy meal. It made me look like a king to her.”
Then, Sydney says that they “need a break” and Simon agrees. He then brings up on the big computer screen the 1972 McDonald’s ad. Simon has Zach help sing the jingle from the ad. Simon then suggests taking those lyrics, updating the images and having a wholesome, famous singing sensation sing it. He then adds that the refrain from the spot was, “You deserve a break today” and he goes on about how people need a break nowadays just as they did then and then talks about togetherness and family while eating McDonald’s. He then says he’s proposing they redo the spot “and take a chance on making people feel.” Hannah goes for it but tells Simon and everyone else that they need to find a wholesome star to sing the jungle by the next day. Sydney is horrified when Simon agrees.
Sydney and Andrew are on the phone trying to get a singer lined up but are unsuccessful “Jennifer Lopez wants to be paid in diamonds, Mariah is at an ashram, Adele’s British and Pink threatened me,” Andrew tells Sydney. Sydney then tells Simon that he should have pitched the “authenticity campaign,” but he still thinks they would have been fired if he’d done that.
Sydney then tells Simon that he promised McDonald’s, their biggest client, something they can’t deliver. Simon then tells Sydney that he’s having lunch with Kelly Clarkson and asks Zach to come. Sydney is floored that Simon got a lunch meeting with Kelly Clarkson.
Simon and Zach are having lunch with Kelly Clarkson and they pitch the idea. Kelly tells them that she doesn’t do jingles and then says since they are trying to “rebrand” and so is she and tells them how she wants to remake her image. She then agrees to sing the jingle but she wants to sing about sex. Simon and Zach are surprised but then make up a meat-related sex song on the spot. Kelly doesn’t like it and says that she’ll pick the song then agrees to sing it for McDonald’s.
Simon returns to the office and talks to the life-size stencil drawing of himself in the lobby telling it that after “rehab and two marriages, you’ve still got it you son of a b**ch!” He then tells Sydney, Andrew and Lauren that he got Kelly Clarkson to do the jingle and only some “major-minor details need to be worked out.” Sydney wonders what those “major-minor details” are.
Zach and Kelly are singing the song Kelly chose in the recording studio as Simon, Andrew and Lauren watch. Then, Sydney enters and is horrified to hear that the lyrics are overtly sexual and Kelly is literally having an orgasm as she sings. Simon tells her not to worry because he’s going to “pivot” Kelly to sing their “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle. Once they’re done singing, Simon and Zach try to “pivot” Kelly but she calls them on it, says that she doesn’t like to be “pivoted” and walks out. Sydney freaks.
Sydney interrupts a family gathering of Kelly and her family to pitch the idea again but emphasizes the wholesome, family connection angle and that she wants her to sell “this” as she points to Kelly’s family and the feeling of togetherness. Kelly wants Sydney to show her what she means by singing the jingle. Sydney meekly tries to but is embarrassed to do so in front of a restaurant full of people but Kelly insists so Sydney belts out part of the jingle as Kelly finished it and the restaurant patrons applaud.
Then, we see Kelly singing the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle in the recording studio as Simon, Sydney and company watch. Simon tells Sydney how proud he is of her and how she’s always been his rock.
Later, as they’re leaving the office, Simon stops by the life-size drawing again. Sydney insists that he’s still that man and he says that if he is it’s because of her. They then walk to the elevator and Simon insists that Sydney go in first. The doors close as they smile at each other.
image: CBS