FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
April 29, 2005
Staples' Desk Apprentice a Big Seller
Last week I wrote a not altogether kindly FC blog post about the Staples Desk Apprentice, brazenly calling it a "hulking monstrosity." One week later, it looks like I'll have to at least nibble on a bit of crow. I got a call this morning from Shuan Clair, who works for Staples' PR agency, telling me while he found last week's post "humorous," he thought I should hear the Desk Apprentice's sales stats so far. Fair enough. In one week, the company sold all of the roughly 30,000 units it had rushed to market to be available the day after the episode ran. And--lending credence to H.L. Mencken's famous theory that "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public"--the waiting list for the Desk Apprentice stands at 15,000 and continues to grow.
Jumping into natty, never-wrong journalist mode, I began to pepper Shaun with mostly irrelevant questions about the staying power of the Desk Apprentice (Shaun: "Will this be a holiday item? Hmm, I don't know."). But then I managed to at least ask whether it was being bought for novelty purposes or because a rush of people really think it's the next Post-it note. Surprise, surprise, people are buying it as a "conversation piece." For the first time since I reluctantly cleared (a lot) of space on my desk to give this menacing paean to corporate bureaucracy a home, I finally understood why I didn't just lob the Desk Apprentice into the garbage dump right after opening it. It is one of the most remarkable conversation pieces I've ever had. It's way more effective than my old Balinese rosewood nameplate (now de-commissioned), more approachable than My Pet Fat or the Life-Saver candy dish. So forget the water cooler, having a physical artifact tied to a popular show around which we can gather with corporate chums and shoot the breeze is genuinely a marketing revolution in the making. I can see it now: The Tony Soprano Desk Chair, The Desperate Housewives' Pen Collection, The Survivor Desk Tiki Torch.
Posted by Ryan Underwood at April 29, 2005 12:49 PM | Category: arts + entertainment |
8 Comments
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The Desk Apprentice is simply too large and utilitarian to make it in the long haul. Ideally, it should have large photos on each side: Trump, Carolyn, George, and the Bedazzler.
You missed the mark with the Desperate Housewives Pen Set. The clear winner would be a black book for you to record all your own gossip, or at least keep track of the show's myriad secrets and plotlines.
I call bullsh*t.
Either NBC, Trump/Burnett, or Staples is feeding the press a load. This reeks. It's all getting old.
A friend of mine is a Staples store manager and he told me they sold out their stock on the first day. Conversation piece, or collectable makes sense to me. I would need another desk to actually use this thing....
I don't have enough room in my cubicle to fit that spinning box.
Strange - I saw the show on tv and was immediately inspired to buy one, but I told my wife I wasn't going to bother for awhile as these things were going to sell out immediately. Well, two weeks later I went hopefully to my local Staples to find that not only had they sold out the first day and naturally didn't have any in stock, they were given a whopping SIX units to sell initially (at least at this branch). I don't know what the negativity is about this - I cannot wait to get this thing to clean up my desk with! Of course I had to put my name on a Staples waiting list that said it would take 6-8 weeks before they had more in - wow! I knew the thing would sell, but not this strongly. It seems pretty revolutionary to me - I work at home and this will not be a conversation piece (although I bet my wife and I will discuss it at first) - I'm not trying to be trendy, I'm trying to have an organized desk - I can't wait. So there!
I'm expecting delivery of my desk apprentice today or tomorrow. I homeschool the kids and hoping it will keep all their books and supplies in one spot. We have never watched the apprentice show. We learned about the desk apprectice through a homeschool forum. I am worried about the size. If it doesnt work my local staples will happily take them off my hands. They didn't get any to sell and would love to see one in person.
It can stand on the floor.
The Desk Apprentice has actually been one of my greatest purchases. My desk is neat and organized and it may be larger than some organizers, it really is not that large. In fact I bought one for my office mate and he thinks it's the greatest as well. Mine gets used daily and I can't imagine being without it now. Ryan definitely missed the mark with his review. Unless your desk is child size, this is a great addition for just about any office desk situation.