That is very funny. It totally reminds me of something I bought at Sam’s Club a few months ago. I found a beautiful bright red Swingline stapler. Very similar to the one that was in “Office Space”. Being a big fan of this particular film I had to pick one up, besides I needed a new stapler anyway. As I flipped the package over I noticed a little headline that read, “The star of any office space”. I can’t imagine that this was a coincidence. This probably wasn’t the act of a lone designer without anyone else noticing. This seems more like a clever marketing joke for the consumer. The people who haven’t seen the film won’t even notice it, and those who have will get a little chuckle and feel like they were let in on a little joke. This seems like a good way to take advantage of great product placement in a movie without banging someone over the head with “The Official Stapler of your Office Space.” I can only imagine the package having good old Milton holding on to his dear stapler. There is definitely a limit to how many product tie-ins the consumer will tolerate. “The Cat in the Hat” is a good example of way too many tie-ins, and I think Shrek is pushing his limits too. Anyway that was a little off topic.

The point is that we all feel a little smarter and even more included when we get a little subtle joke. I am forever a Swingline man.