It ain’t easy being a jewelry store owner—or a restaurateur, for that matter. Especially if you’re dropped into the job with zero experience. 

That was the purposely improbable premise behind The Office Swap, a hilarious new viral video  produced by Kansas City, Mo., fine jewelry chain Tivol.

In the video, which was produced by Tivol’s director of marketing, Adam Gebhardt, jeweler Cathy Tivol swaps jobs for the day with her longtime friend, Joy Stehney, co-owner of Oklahoma Joe’s Bar-B-Que, a legendary local establishment.

In the video, Tivol is seen awkwardly pulling pork and saucing ribs in the kitchen. But her “hard” work ultimately devolves into a one-woman barbecue pig out behind the restaurant.

Stehney spent the day “running” one of Tivol’s two stores but couldn’t get food off her mind. She incorporated barbecue messaging into Tivol ads and even placed sauced meats inside the store’s glass cases as a, well, juicy incentive to buy. 

The pair clearly had a ball making the mockumentary, which runs just under five minutes and is currently posted on the companies’ websites and social media channels.

“I’ve always admired Tivol, and it was such a treat to run the company if even for a few hours,” said Stehney in a statement. “I’ve never had more fun than watching Cathy work in the kitchen of Oklahoma Joe’s—and stealing food along the way.”

The delightfully goofy video was created with client engagement in mind, but Tivol also hopes it will dismantle any feelings of intimidation prospective clients may harbor about shopping at her stores. 

“We sometimes hear that people are intimidated to walk into Tivol because of our reputation for luxury,” she said in a statement. “This video was such a fun way to help break down that barrier and to remind people that we’re not only friendly and approachable, but we have a sense of humor as well.”

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor