The setup was part of an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank pulled off by the office assistants and company chief executive Michael A.M. Davies.

All that was left at the headquarters of the business and mobile technology firm were typewriters, pencils, and leaflet paper — a scene that looked like it was plucked straight from an episode of “Mad Men.”

The keyboards? Gone. Computers? Nowhere to be found. And forget about the large-screen televisions and other gadgets typically found in the Kendall Square office of Endeavour Partners.

As employees strolled into the office just before 9 a.m., instead of the usual hum of computers and clacking of keyboards, all that could be heard was the smooth sound of music crackling through a record player speaker.


“Where do I even plug this in?” said a shocked Varag Gharibjanian, as he plopped down in front of a typewriter in his office.

Not much work was getting done Wednesday.

“We shifted project deadlines for this,” Davies said.

The company got the outdated office supplies for the prank from specialty shops in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as on eBay.

Tara Huggins, a personal assistant, said it took weeks of careful plotting, tight lips, and a late-night execution after everybody shuffled out of the office Tuesday.

“We work at the cutting edge of technology, so we did what we thought was the most extreme opposite that we could do,” Davies said.

More than a dozen computers and phones were replaced by typewriters, notepads, and rotary phones. Old records and copies of Life magazine were placed around the office, along with a bottle of whiskey for good measure.

Too bad Don Draper wasn’t there to help drink it.

Neel Desai, an associate consultant, said the gag was indicative of the office culture at the company.


“It’s incredible for a company so forward-thinking to do something like this,” he said. “They are always keeping things light-hearted.”

As a token of appreciation for their tolerating the prank, each employee was promised a typewriter of their choice to take home.

Steve Annear/Globe Staff

Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.