Dunder Mifflin paper is coming to an office near you, said Suzanne Vranica in The Wall Street Journal. The much-mocked fictional paper company featured on NBC’s The Office is now lending its name to real paper. Quill.com, a division of Staples, has struck a two-year licensing deal with NBC to market Dunder Mifflin paper, complete with slogans familiar to viewers of the popular sitcom, including “Our Motto Is ‘Quabity First.’” The brains behind the branding say it’s an example of reverse product placement: Instead of embedding brands in TV shows and movies, marketers bring fictional brands to life because of their name recognition, like the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurants, inspired by the film Forrest Gump. In the end, office managers may not care: Analysts say paper sales depend on whether the product “doesn’t jam their copier.”
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