Dunder-Mifflin copy paper for the holidays?!?

[Nords]

In what has to be the most bizarre reverse-product-placement ploy in several years, Staples is now selling Dunder-Mifflin brand copy paper.

You know, the guys who brought us the phrase: "Quabity first".

And they're actually charging more for it.

Dunder Mifflin Morphs Into Real-Life Brand - WSJ.com

In the estimated $3 billion North American copy-paper market, sales have been declining at about 3% a year—even more during the recession, said Mark Connelly, an analyst at CLSA. The decline stems from a shrinking volume of workplace printing, in part due to the greater use of PDF documents and email. It doesn't help that consumers are most swayed by price when they buy paper, said Mr. Pereira.

The Dunder Mifflin deal is an example of "reverse product placement." For decades, marketers have worked to embed their brands in the plots of TV shows and movies as a way to stand out in a crowded ad market. Nowadays, they are seeing value in bringing to life fictional brands that are already part of pop culture. That can be far cheaper than building brands from scratch.

Maybe businesses are buying the product and having it shipped to their competitors for prominent (embarrassing) delivery as a gag gift?

 

[mh]

In what has to be the most bizarre reverse-product-placement ploy in several years, Staples is now selling Dunder-Mifflin brand copy paper.

You know, the guys who brought us the phrase: "Quabity first".

And they're actually charging more for it.

Dunder Mifflin Morphs Into Real-Life Brand - WSJ.com


Maybe businesses are buying the product and having it shipped to their competitors for prominent (embarrassing) delivery as a gag gift?

Perhaps it's a little nod to an amusing incompetence. A hope for a happier despair. One that is free from unending, soul crushing mediocrity.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I thought that was pretty clever to sell Dunder-Mifflin paper (and just who gets to keep the licensing $$--Ricky Gervais, creator of the show?), but when I saw a carton of it costs 4 times the generic stuff, now I think Staples' marketing people are geniuses.

 

[SecondCor521]

Does it come with a watermark?

2Cor521