Staples-owned Quills.com has been making Dunder Mifflin paper (inspired by the workplace on NBC's "The Office") since 2011, and it wanted to run an ad for the brand during the Oscars in Scranton, PA. Scranton is, after all, where "The Office" takes place.
The only problem: the local ABC-affiliate in Scranton refused to let the ad play during the broadcast.
According to a statement, the ad was rejected "apparently because of the brand’s NBC ties. (The CBS affiliate in Scranton had no issues with another Dunder Mifflin ad running during the Super Bowl.)"
The ad will now only air during the Academy Award broadcast in Utica, NY, the hometown of one of Dunder Mifflin's rivals in "The Office."
Watch the spot below:
The ad was made by Texas-based Snap Brothers Productions via Tongal's crowd sourcing platform. It was picked by a panel of executives from Quill.com, NBCUniversal, and executive producers from "The Office."
Quill did something similar for the Super Bowl when it only aired a Dunder Mifflin ad in Scranton. The idea for the spot was also crowdsourced. The spot, called "Paper War," was viewed nearly one million times online and received 300 media impressions.
Here's the Super Bowl commercial:
Dunder Mifflin's marketing strategy emulates that of Old Milwaukee beer.
For years, Will Ferrell has made bizarre ads for Old Milwaukee that have only played in small markets during the Super Bowl. While a lot of people might not see an Old Milwaukee ad air in North Platte, Nebraska, the commercials always become viral successes.
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