Scranton TV station snubs 'Dunder Mifflin' ad

The Associated Press, Friday, February 22, 2013, 10:38am (PST)

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A northeastern Pennsylvania TV station is refusing to run a commercial for the real-life Dunder Mifflin paper brand.

Quill.com produces a line of paper products inspired by the fictional company at the center of "The Office," the long-running NBC comedy set in Scranton.

Quill had planned to run an ad on WNEP-TV, the ABC affiliate, during this Sunday's Academy Awards telecast. But WNEP declined to air the spot.

Paul Bessinger works for Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Quill, a division of Staples. He tells The Times-Tribune of Scranton (http://bit.ly/YhwSUt ) the spot was apparently declined because "The Office" airs on a rival network.

Michael Last at WNEP declined to comment.

The ad will air instead on another ABC affiliate, in Utica, N.Y. Like Scranton, Utica is home to a Dunder Mifflin branch on "The Office."

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Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/