As fans of “The Office” prepare to say a fond farewell to their beloved Scranton-dwelling characters on tonight’s series finale, the real-life Dunder Mifflin paper company, launched in 2011 via a licensing deal between Quill.com and NBC Universal, is preparing to ramp up business with a well-placed ad.

The spot, created by PR agency Olson and crowdsourcing platform Tongal, will run tonight in five Dunder Mifflin “branch” markets (Scranton, Utica, Akron, Albany, Syracuse).

While back in 2011 some thought that the concept of reverse product placement in the form of an entire company was sure to be a failure, the real-world Dunder Mifflin has grown into a multi-million dollar brand that is now among the best-selling brands in the office-supply category. We guess having sales geniuses like Dwight in your corner can make all the difference, especially when he delivers nuggets of marketing gold like, “To me, success is simply the opposite of failure.” Indeed.

Princess Merida, the young Scottish girl who broke tradition and took a decidedly feminist stand against being married off to the winner of an archery competition in Disney’s “Brave” (by using her kick-ass marksmanship skills to win her own hand) has officially been inducted into the sacred sisterhood of the Disney Princesses, taking her place alongside the likes of Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel.

But before Merida could join the ranks of her more mature counterparts, she had to undergo quite a makeover. First, her dress — a functional frock, suitable for her outdoor adventures, was replaced by a much brighter, frillier, more low-cut number, reminding young girls that looks trump comfort. And because there’s nothing feminine or damsel-like about packing heat, her beloved bow and arrows were apparently confiscated.

Equally disturbing were the changes that were made to her previously young-girl-like figure: her waist had clearly been cinched and her bust noticeably increased, she was given flirtatious lashes and rosier cheeks, and her adventurous, slightly defiant-looking smile gave way to a sultry smirk. After critics lambasted the made-over Merida for over-sexualizing what was supposed to be a young girl to whom real young girls could relate, Disney quietly pulled the image from their website and replaced it with the Pixar original.

We’re not surprised the backlash was so intense, because while we agree that the over-sexualization was a major problem, we think it went beyond that. Read more

Clearly, the promoters of the soon-to-be-revived cult classic “Arrested Development” did not “make a huge mistake” when they organized yesterday’s NYC giveaway of “Bluth’s Bananas”, a frozen treat featured on the show.

Diehard fans waited as long as 30 minutes in lines that stretched nearly two blocks for a chance to get their own chocolate-dipped frozen bananas from the authentic-looking replica of the Bluth family’s stand.

“I am such a major fan,” 21-year-old Sharah Stanley told the New York Daily News as she waited in line. “When I found out it was going to be here, I raced up. I hope the line doesn’t take too long because I’m on my lunch break.”

Stanley is not alone in waiting on bated breath for new episodes of her beloved show. Arrested Development, which originally ran from 2003 to 2006, will be reborn with a new season scheduled to be released by Netflix on May 26.

Photo via Imgur

Fans dressing up as their favorite movie characters while attending opening weekend film showings is nothing new. However, costumed moviegoers who partnered with Capital 8 Theatres in Missouri to promote the premiere of Iron Man 3 recently caused a panic, for which the theater is now apologizing.

Had the cosplayers been dressed as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, we imagine no one would have been particularly alarmed, but some group members donned S.H.I.E.L.D agent costumes — complete with fake firearms — which, given last year’s tragic shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater (and the current high-alert mentality when it comes to guns), might not have been the best idea.

Moviegoers, understandably frightened by the sight of people dressed in what appeared to be body armor and carrying assault rifles, called the local police. Once the dust settled, the complaints began rolling in and the theater was skewered on social media, some even accusing Capital 8 of intentionally causing the kerfuffle as a publicity stunt. In response, the company issued the following apology:

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The New York metro area is giddy about The Great Gatsby, and for good reason. The highly anticipated movie, to be released on May 10, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel of the same name was set on the north shore, or Gold Coast, of Long Island.

Locals are already enjoying movie tie-ins galore, including Tiffany’s ‘Gatsby’-inspired jewelry collection, Prada’s exhibit of movie costumes and Brooks Brother’s new menswear line. The Plaza Hotel’s ‘is unveiling a Gatsby’ suite. Long Island’s historic north shore mansions inspired the cinematic backdrop, so they’re getting in on the action with springtime ‘Gatsby’ galas.

Here’s what we’ve gleaned about the glitzy goods and the upcoming festivities:

Tiffany’s Collection: The luxury jewelry brand, where Fitzgerald was a client, is showcasing a series of 1920s era windows at its Fifth Avenue flagship store. On the main floor, dazzling art deco items are on display. The fourth floor is showing clips from the movie and interviews with designer Catherine Martin, wife of ‘Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann. Nearby are cases of crystal bowls, diamond tiaras and chandelier earrings.

Brooks Brothers’ Clothing Line: Fitzgerald was also a fan of the clothing brand, which has long served affluent customers. The retailer designed the movie’s menswear and recently launched a ‘Great Gatsby’ line. The limited edition clothing interprets the film’s period looks with items such as waistcoats and formal wear. Brooks Brothers is also highlighting its ‘Gatsby’ connection with different window displays at each of its New York City stores.

Prada’s SoHo Store Exhibit: Famed Italian designer Miuccia Prada created the “period accurate but modern” women’s costumes for The Great Gatsby. Starting today, those stylish fashions are being shown at Prada’s store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. Items include dresses and accessories, in addition to sketches and behind-the-scenes photos.

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In recent years the movie business has used social data to connect with audiences and stepped up its reliance on quantitative data to forecast box office revenues. However, if data represented a person, that individual may get a seat at L.A.’s trendiest restaurant, but would still be seated in the back room. That was the gist of a Tribeca Film Festival Industry Talks panel on Tuesday in New York.

“There are three countervailing forces at play that we need to balance, namely the artistic creative side, technological advances and commercial considerations”, said Jason Kassin, co-founder and CEO of Film Track, a rights management company.

“Navigating the world with data points is different than it was five years ago”, added Eugene Hernandez, Film Society of Lincoln Center‘s director of digital strategy. The biggest change is the use of sentiment analysis to monitor audience reactions, though the benefits appear mixed:

• Sentiment-based date is broadly used: “Big data has become socialized”, said Bill Livek, vice chairman and CEO of entertainment measurement company Rentrak. Their customers include not only big studios, but also independent studios and distributors across the country.
• Social media monitoring yields massive, but imprecise data: Sentiment analysis measures movie reviews, ratings and audience comments. As Stacy Spikes, CEO and co-founder of theatrical subscription service MoviePass noted, “Going to the movies now is a communal experience”. Nevertheless, social media data isn’t projectable, the panelists cautioned.
• Sentiment analysis can point to the right direction, according to Christina Warren, Mashable’s senior tech analyst. “But since monitoring is mostly done by machine, it’s best to use the tool to help target audiences and markets”, she explained. Livek concurred, adding, “A social media database can drive certain activities, but not content creation.”

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Brian Stelter, who launched TVNewser almost 10 years ago, is now a published author. “Top of the Morning,” out today, lays bare a tumultuous year for network morning news shows which saw one anchor pack her bags, another face a serious health issue, a ratings leader fall — and lose a quarter of its audience — and an entirely new show launch.

In his first interview for the book, Stelter tells us about the secrecy behind “Top of the Morning,” the access he got, and what he thinks about being called Matt Lauer‘s nemesis.

• Part II, tomorrow: What happens when Brian Stelter Tweets something he shouldn’t?

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Most of the world’s biggest media companies have recently taken some time to endorse or promote the latest anti-piracy campaigns like the so-called “six strikes” law that would use web providers to mess with the service of people who share copyrighted properties.

Despite this fact, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo committed a PR faux pas during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in which he addressed Game of Thrones’s status as the most-pirated show of all time with an effective “meh”. Here’s the money quote:

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts. The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.” (Ed. note: a concluding “bitch!” was strongly implied.)

How does this relate to PR?

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We thought Brad Pitt’s painfully pretentious and nonsensical Chanel no. 5 ad had forever tarnished the concept of high fashion “content marketing” for us, but yesterday we finally came across a spot we can support.

The purpose of this three minute short film, directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, is to promote Prada‘s new fragrance Candy L’Eau.  The short features all the quirk, charm and sense of humor one might expect from its creators, stars the lovely French actress/model Léa Seydoux and follows a sweet storyline that pays homage to the love triangles of French New Wave cinema. Viewers will likely be so charmed by the spot’s characters and aesthetic that they’ll hardly notice the three explicit brand plugs.

We don’t know about you, readers, but we find this product rollout campaign much more enjoyable than listening to movie stars — however gorgeous they may be — ramble ceaselessly and unintelligibly about fate, life, and the universe (especially on a Friday!).

Here’s an interesting twist on the “low-rated cult favorite on life support” trend: the ABC network has created an ad campaign urging fans of its admired but struggling sitcom Happy Endings to help save the show by…you know, watching it live.

It’s almost like a mirror image of the challenge faced by critics’ favorites 30 Rock and Community, whose stars Tina Fey and Joel McHale accused NBC (in classic passive-aggressive style) of failing to properly promote their shows. In those cases, the actors themselves encouraged fans to voice their support via grassroots social media campaigns.

Of course this isn’t really groundbreaking public relations news, but it’s interesting because we’ve never heard of a network pulling a marketing move like this before — and something tells us that it will become more common as the TV business model changes to keep up with every other form of content distribution. Here’s the spot:

There’s also a hashtag and some funny tweets:

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