This Might Hurt

One of the nation’s largest retailers of office supplies has a big red button on which (is written the word “easy.”) That’s not what Jesus says.

“That was easy.”

It’s the trademarked company slogan of Staples, the rising star among office supply megastores. When it comes to meeting our office supply needs, Staples has us covered. Piece of cake.

Fans of the NBC hit sitcom The Office recognize Staples as a primary sponsor of the show as well as a “character” in the plot line. Staples is the national chain that little-guy paper company Dunder Mifflin always loses business to. The crew from The Office is old school about sales techniques: “Business to business. The old-fashioned way. No Blackberrys. No Web sites.”

But not Staples. They use this newfangled thing called the Internet. You can even buy their paper on it. Converted Dunder Mifflin clients claim that the Staples Web site makes it easy.

Just a little subtle ad placement in an otherwise brilliantly written television show.

The ad campaign for Staples has won industry awards for its creative spots containing The Easy Button. It’s...