'Office' ad to miss Oscars
Dunder Mifflin paper brand commercial not on local TV
Local TV viewers got a clever, humorous look at the real-life Dunder Mifflin paper brand earlier this month during the Super Bowl.
But they won't be able to see the follow-up during the film world's night in the spotlight.
Quill.com, which produces a line of paper products inspired by the fictional company at the center of the Scranton-set NBC comedy "The Office," had intentions of paying to run its second Dunder Mifflin commercial during Sunday's Academy Awards telecast on local ABC affiliate WNEP-TV, Channel 16.
However, WNEP declined to air the spot, apparently because of "The Office's" relationship to a rival network, said Paul Bessinger, director of innovation for Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Quill, a division of Staples.
Instead, the ad will air exclusively on the Utica, N.Y., ABC affiliate. Like Scranton, Utica is home to a Dunder Mifflin branch on "The Office."
"We really wanted to air the ad in Scranton because we got such a great response from the Super Bowl ad," Mr. Bessinger said.
WNEP general sales manager Michael Last declined to comment on the subject when reached Thursday.
The first ad, titled "Paper War," aired exclusively on local CBS affiliate WYOU-TV, Channel 22 during the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The commercial cost less than $15,000 to run and received nearly 1 million views online, according to Quill.
The new ad, titled "The Battle," can also be viewed online, including at thetimes-tribune.com. Like "Paper War," it features office workers attacking each other with medieval-style weapons made from Dunder Mifflin paper products.
The new ad was created by Denton, Texas-based Snap Brothers Productions and came in second place to "Paper War" during a competition held last month through the crowdsourcing platform Tongal.
Since launching in 2011, Dunder Mifflin copy paper has been one of Quill's biggest sellers. Recently, the line was extended to include Sharpie pens, self-stick notes, tissue boxes, coffee cups, storage boxes and legal pads.
Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com, @jmcauliffeTT on Twitter