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Cities Celebrate Television Exposure as ‘Office’ Convention Gets Underway
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Scranton, Pennsylvania, pays tribute to its role in the television show “The Office” with a weekend-long convention, becoming one of many cities to revel in their small screen stardom.
30-Second Summary
Popular television shows are a powerful marketing tool, and their power to attract publicity can extend far beyond product placement and advertising.
Shows set in real cities often create strong associations between the fictional world of the television studio and its factual referent.
Increasingly, cities are embracing these connections as a way to raise their profile and bolster tourist industries. Many times the initial burst of enthusiasm for a project wanes over time.
Scranton, Pennsylvania, a former coal-mining town of about 75,000 people, is not usually a tourist hotspot.
Yet at least 2,000 people will happily converge on the city this weekend for a three-day celebration of its connection to the hit NBC television show “The Office.” Convention planners have already collected $150,000 in ticket sales.
Cities large and small have made similar moves, throwing parties, hosting festivals, and erecting statues all in the name of popular television and profits.
But it is not all about the money.
The New York Times writes that Scranton “is in the midst of an economic and cultural revival,” and that both convention planners and the mayor think “The Office” is a big part of that.
Shows set in real cities often create strong associations between the fictional world of the television studio and its factual referent.
Increasingly, cities are embracing these connections as a way to raise their profile and bolster tourist industries. Many times the initial burst of enthusiasm for a project wanes over time.
Scranton, Pennsylvania, a former coal-mining town of about 75,000 people, is not usually a tourist hotspot.
Yet at least 2,000 people will happily converge on the city this weekend for a three-day celebration of its connection to the hit NBC television show “The Office.” Convention planners have already collected $150,000 in ticket sales.
Cities large and small have made similar moves, throwing parties, hosting festivals, and erecting statues all in the name of popular television and profits.
But it is not all about the money.
The New York Times writes that Scranton “is in the midst of an economic and cultural revival,” and that both convention planners and the mayor think “The Office” is a big part of that.
Headline Links: 'The Office' and Scranton, PA
In contrast to the fondness many Scranton residents have expressed for the city’s role in the American “Office,” the officials of Slough—the English town that played host to the more aggressively satiric British original—did little to embrace their location’s infamy. However, Gemma Morgan, marketing and communications manager for the borough council, told The New York Times that even though officials there had always issued brusque statements about the show, “at the end of the day the show put us on the map.”
Source: The New York Times
Scranton newspaper The Times-Tribune reports that “The Office” Convention will feature appearances by 14 cast members, and a Sunday afternoon discussion panel with executive producer Greg Daniels and a group of the show’s writers. So far, convention planners have sold over 2,000 tickets, collecting more than $150,000.
Source: The Times-Tribune
The official site of Scranton “Office” Convention provides online ticket sales, a schedule of events and “Office” quizzes.
Source: "The Office" Convention Web site
Background: 'Napoleon Dynamite' festivities and television memorials
The small eastern Idaho city of Preston exploited its role in the 2004 box office hit “Napoleon Dynamite” by holding a Napoleon Dynamite Festival in 2005. The weekend’s festivities were a success, drawing an estimated 6,000 fans. Unfortunately, a revival of the festival in the following year saw attendance plummet to around 400 people.
Source: IdahoStatesman.com
Some cities pay tribute to their fictitious benefactors by erecting statues and monuments in their honor. A bronze sculpture of Bob Newhart greets visitors to Chicago’s Gateway Park, and the visage of television’s most famous bus driver—Ralph Kramden—stands smiling outside New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal. The TV Land Web site provides virtual tours and video footage of these and other tube-inspired memorials.
Source: The TV Land Web site
The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, may construct a life-sized bronze statue of “The Fonz” right in the middle of its downtown district. Commemorating the popular 1970s show “Happy Days,” which was set in 1950s Milwaukee, the statue would depict leather-jacket toting character Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. The non-profit tourism group Visit Milwaukee is promoting the statue, and Fonz-actor Henry Winkler has already agreed to attend the dedication ceremony should the figure be erected.
Source: CBS 58 in Milwaukee
In August 1997, the city of Mound, Minnesota, dedicated a public park to its favorite barbarian son, “Hercules” star Kevin Sorbo. In recognition of the gesture, Sorbo presented the mayor with a sword used in his show: “This is one of our 'hero swords' ... It's something to return back for the honor that you have bestowed on me today. This represents the sword of veracity, which deals with truth and honor, and I couldn't put it in a better man's hands.”
Source: City Pages Minneappolis/St. Paul
Related Topics: Springfield, VT hosts Simpsons party and the golden touch of ‘Seinfeld’
Since “The Simpsons” debuted in 1987, Springfield residents across the nation have claimed that the fictitious home of Homer and his family is modeled on their own town. So it seemed only natural for marketers to hold a national Springfields competition to see which one would host the premier of “The Simpsons Movie.” Springfield, Vermont, prevailed, drawing around 5,000 visitors for the celebration.
Source: USA Today
The chef who inspired the Soup Nazi character on “Seinfeld” saw business in his Manhattan soup shop skyrocket after the show parodied his strict ordering policies. Business was so good in fact that the soup man—Al Yeganeh—closed his original shop in 2004 to concentrate on franchising Original SoupMan stores across the country. However, The International Herald Tribune reported in September 2007 that many of the stores failed in the first year, prompting other franchise owners to opt out of their contract.
Source: The International Herald Tribune
Tom’s Restaurant, celebrated as the exterior of Monk’s Cafe in “Seinfeld,” has become a regular tourist destination in Manhattan since the show aired. Located in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights, Tom’s was also the inspiration for Suzanne Vega’s single “Tom’s Diner.”
Source: Not for Tourists
Kenny Kramer, the real-life inspiration for the Kramer character, has gotten into the act, ushering tourists and “Seinfeld” enthusiasts to the show’s most prominent Gotham sites on Kramer’s Reality Tour.
Source: KennyKramer.com
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