Dilbert cartoon first published on Sunday 13th August 1995

Dilbert//2311, first published 31 years ago on Sunday 13th August 1995

Tags

marketing dept

Official transcript

Dogbert sits at a desk and says, "Here's how your marketing department can help retain your best engineers."

The caption says, "Marketing gets an idea."

A man points to a diagram and says, "We'll leverage our technology by building ant farms."

The caption says, "Spreadsheets make the idea look profitable."

The Boss and the man sit at a conference table. The man says, "The ant milk alone will be a positive NPV!"

The Boss replies, "Wow!"

He thinks, "What's an NPV?"

The caption says, "Don't forget the 'worst case scenario.'"

The man says, "Worst case, somebody builds a gigantic magnifying glass next door."

The man contines, "Solution: bite-sized ant jerky!"

The Boss says, "There's no risk!"

The caption says, "An engineer will be assigned to the project."

The Boss says to Dilbert, "Ant farms! Do it!"

Dilbert thinks, "Uh-oh."

The caption says, "The engineer will challenge the assumptions."

Dilbert says, "You can't get a gallon of milk from an ant!"

The Boss asks, "What do YOU know about marketing?"

The caption says, "Result: the engineer will never leave the company."

An interviewer asks Dilbert, "So . . . Your current job is 'Ant Farm Engineer'?"

Dilbert thinks, "I'm doomed."

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

HERE'S HOW YOUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT CAN HELP RETAIN YOUR BEST ENGINEERS MARKETING GETS AN IDEA WELL LEVERAGE OUR TECHNOLOGY BY BUILDING ANT FARMS SPREADSHEETS MAKE THE IDEA LOOK PROFITABLE THE ANT MILK ALONE WILL BE A POSITIVE NPV!

WHAT'SAN NPV?

WOW DON'T FORGET THE "WORST CASE SCENARIO." WORSI CASE, SOMEBODY BUILDS A GIGANTIC MAGNIFYING GLASS NEXT DOOR..

SOLUTION: BITE-SIZED ANT JERKY!

THERE'S NO RISK!

AN ENGINEER WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE PROJECT.

ANT FARMS!

DO IT!

UH-OH THE ENGINEER WILL CHALLENGE THE ASSUMPTIONS YOU CAN'T GET A GALLON OF MILK FROM AN ANT!

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MARKETING?

RESULT: THE ENGINEER WILL NEVER LEAVE THE COMPANY SO..YOUR CURRENT JOB IS "ANT FARM ENGINEER"?

I'M DOOMED.

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

The comic strip, originally published in 1996, is titled "Ant Farm Engineer" and features Dilbert and his marketing department in a humorous exchange.

Summary:

• The marketing department tasks Dilbert with finding a way to make money from ant farms.
• Dilbert's solution is to bite-sized ant jerky, which he believes will be a hit.
• However, his engineer assigns the project to someone else, citing the complexity of marketing.
• Dilbert is left frustrated and confused, wondering how his current job is "ant farm engineer."

Key Takeaways:

• The comic strip pokes fun at the absurdity of corporate bureaucracy and the challenges of working in a large organization.
• It highlights the difficulties of communicating effectively across departments and the importance of clear goals and expectations.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

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