“I’m just heading downstairs for my paleo pear and banana bread”, may be about to enter the national vernacular along with “not happy Jan” and “good on ya mum”.

The line comes from a recruitment ad from the federal Department of Finance so excruciating in its tone and message, many have initially interpreted the ad as a parody.

In a seeming effort to make working with Finance look fun and funky, and attract the nation’s best and brightest, the department enlisted the help of its own staff to make the three-minute video, which is so awkward, it can, at times, be hard to watch.

“I’m so stoked for our presentation to the executives this afternoon,” one of the staff says to another employee walking along the corridor of the department.

Enter Claire. “Hey guys, I’m just heading downstairs for my paleo pear and banana bread. Would you like to join me?,” she asks, in all seriousness.

“No thanks, it’s a little bit fancy for me,” the other staffer responds. “I’m actually off to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff network meeting.”

And on it goes, in a style so awkward, and so wooden it could be on the shelves at a timber merchant.

The video, called Game Changers, reportedly cost $37,000 to make, according to Fairfax Media, and was raised in questioning tones by Liberal senator James Paterson at a Senate Estimates committee on Wednesday.

Senator Paterson felt the “paleo pear and banana bread” may come across as a little light and trivial for a department as earnest and significant as finance.

It was explained it was made at the request of the graduate to change the script and the Finance officials involved thought they were not the best people to communicate to a younger generation.

Watch the ad and judge for yourself

– with AAP