When The Paper premiered on Peacock in early September before launching its full-season broadcast run on NBC in November, the network faced a unique challenge: how to position a comedy that lives in the universe of The Office but stands on its own.
From creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, The Paper follows the characters of a historic Midwestern newspaper and the determined publisher trying to revive it. That publisher is played by Domhnall Gleeson, leading an ensemble that includes Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and Oscar Nuñez, who reprises his role as Oscar Martinez from The Office.
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“I think we all know The Paper comes as the next step in a very beloved franchise. We have an incredible creator with Greg for The Paper and we wanted to make sure it appealed to fans of The Office,” says Margaret Walker, executive vice president of entertainment marketing at Universal Television Entertainment. “But the goal was to establish a brand new show in its own right.”
That challenge resulted in a marketing campaign aimed to honor The Office legacy without leaning too heavily on the Emmy-winning series. “When marketing the show, the only mention was a line that said, ‘From the universe of The Office.’ And we looked at how to tease Oscar but not make him the whole campaign,” she says. This approach allowed The Paper to tap into The Office’s loyal fanbase while establishing its own comedic identity.
After a strong launch on Peacock, where The Paper was the platform’s No. 2 original comedy premiere, the series moved to broadcast TV for the first time, with NBC airing the full season. The network positioned it on Monday nights at 8:30 ET/PT following St. Denis Medical, creating a complementary comedy block.
The campaign’s creativity drew from the show’s newsroom setting and NBC leaned into the theme with a a front-page takeover of USA Today on Nov. 17. Previously the network had also employed a range of cross-platform tactics, partnering with NBC’s sports properties, including NFL Kickoff, to connect The Paper to broader cultural moments during its Peacock debut.
In addition, the marketing team collaborated with sardonic publication The Onion to produce “The Paper Powered by The Onion,” a satirical, limited-edition physical newspaper that mimics the fictional Toledo Truth Teller newsroom featured in the show, featuring funny classified ads.
Walker emphasized how the campaign aimed to balance humor with heart: “There is an undeniable hope and optimism in the show and we wanted that to come through as much as the dry wit. We wanted people to feel that wild hope for truth in journalism.”
As the show heads into a second season, Walker is happy to see that The Office fans have embraced the show and is equally delighted by the reaction from journalism professionals. “The Office fans have given us a lot of praise for the show and something that was important to our producing partners is that journalists felt really seen.”
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