For nine seasons, “The Office” gave viewers a window into workplace life at a mid-sized paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Now, the relatable office sitcom that resonated with millions has gotten a very clever auto dealership spin.
“The Dealership” series highlights the antics of employees of Mohawk Chevrolet in Ballston Spa, N.Y., including intra-dealership competition (between Mohawk Chevrolet and Mohawk Honda), obscure office pranks, ego clashes, budding office romances, office potluck politics and one very confident supervisor.
Filmed in the fly-on-the-wall mocumentary style immediately familiar to viewers of original TV series, “The Dealership” was the brain child of Mohawk Chevrolet’s Digital Branding Creators, Grace Kerber and Ben Bushen.
The idea for “The Office” parody came to them after an employee pranked co-workers by hiding tiny plastic ducks around the dealership, which made the marketing team think it would be good for a quick video.
“I go on TikTok all the time. I love seeing creative content and it felt cool to make something successful on a platform that I use a lot,” said Kerber, a 23-year-old, self-described “certified scroller.”
Bushen, 36, has worked at Mohawk for five years and has a background in video production. He went to school for audio and video, and is responsible for the look and feel of the videos.
“Ben being such a big fan of ‘The Office’ and knowing enough about the camera work, really makes the vision come to life,” said Kerber, who was just four years old when “The Office” premiered in 2005. “I haven’t really watched it since high school,” she said.
Each of the 15 episodes – which are filmed, edited and posted in just a day -- clocks in at around 3 minutes (perfect for TikTok and other social media platforms) and features dealership talent exclusively. No paid actors are involved, Kerber and Bushen stressed.
“I couldn’t tell you how it works, but it just does,” Kerber said. “It’s completely improv. We ask for 10 minutes, and we get a group of people. We throw everybody in a room and somehow it works.”
That team mentality and willingness to help out is part of what makes Mohawk Chevrolet special, Kerber and Bushen said. “It’s just part of the culture here. Everyone is game for it,” Kerber said.
Viral Series Gets Big Attention
The series really took off with episode 5 -- "Lemme Drive the Rado” – which has gotten over 3.2 million views on TikTok alone, and features an over-confident Kerber and a reluctant Bushen driving off location for a commercial shoot in a Chevrolet Silverado 2500.
Since it debuted 11 months ago, “The Dealership” has gained local, national and international recognition, including the attention of the leadership at General Motors. Episode 11 – “Mohawk Goes Corporate” – was filmed at GM headquarters in Detroit and features cameos from CEO Mary Barra, Vice President Scott Bell and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Majoros.
There could be a few more episodes of “The Dealership” on the way, including an episode filmed at NADA Show 2025 in New Orleans – which Kerber and Bushen will be attending for the first time as official NADA Social Media Ambassadors. They’ll also be leading a workshop – “Selling Your Brand” – on Thursday, January 23.
Breakout Stars
What makes the videos especially innovative and entertaining is that the cars aren’t even the stars of the videos – although they do make cameos.
“We’re not even talking about a car, but people still got the idea. We’re still marketing our business, our people and our brand,” Kerber explained.
There has been one break out star though – Director of Finance, Jerry Mastrianni, aka: Mohawk’s Mr. Wonderful.
“Jerry, he’s our big star. That was a good example of a day where we went down and got people for the episode, and it was the last day of the month and everyone was busy. Jerry was the only one available,” Bushen said.
“The Dealership” has also led to another breakout opportunity -- a job offer for Kerber, who will start a new social media position at GM in late January. “I’m so grateful to everyone here and being able to make these videos. I wouldn’t be able to move ahead if it wasn’t for my family here at Mohawk,” Kerber said.
