The holidays are a time for gratitude and togetherness...and of course a little mischief too. And one of our favorite traditions is our annual out-of-office voicemail for holiday break.
It started with a fun moment of inspiration back in 2017. Get the team together for an old-timey radio play delivery of singing, sound effects and more.
From there, it became a tradition throughout the years—often times with the production value increasing. The only rule is that as many Ducks are involved in the voicemail as possible for a little silly team togetherness. Here's perhaps our masterpiece so far—a parody of a movie trailer for a holiday romantic comedy. We used different team members as writers, voiceover talent, sound design, poster design—and of course models for the poster!
Also makes me think of the time where I saw some Christmas trees in our alley and we knew something had to be done about it. You see, not only do we get a little bummed about the holidays being over (maybe that’s just me…), but one of my our New Year’s resolutions around here is to play more office pranks. Discarded Christmas trees = tons of fun, obviously.
So, we decided to scoop those rejects right up and create a winter wonderland for our friends over at Heave-Ho Productions, complete with Michael Buble’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas on repeat.
Feast your eyes…
In Summary
What's a fun holiday office prank? Here are a couple wholesome ideas from Demo Duck, a video production company in Chicago, IL.
- The holidays can be stressful, so a fun office prank can help your employees decompress and bond.
- Record a funny out-of-office voicemail. Every year when Demo Duck closes for the holidays, the team gets together to write and record a funny audio sketch. It's become a holiday tradition, with different employees acting out different roles in the recording.
- Decorate someone's office. It's a bummer to have to get rid of Christmas trees and wreaths right after the holidays. The Demo Duck team filled a video production industry friend's office with evergreen trees and wreaths without them knowing.