Video Contest: Promotion for “The Office”

So here are the details from YouTube on “The Office” promotion. I feel like I’ve blogged about this before, but it was probably one of my many posts that gets lost by WordPress when I select “Publish.”

Here is the website about the contest.

Now I love that NBC is finally playing nice with the online video space. And The Office is absolutely my favorite television show that’s on the air currently. I TiVo every episode, and I have bought every DVD of both the American and UK original version. If you’ve ever worked in an office and enjoy low-key, laugh-track free humor, this is the show for you.

But… I’m perplexed at how paranoid NBC is about its content:

1. When YouTube contacted NBC to let them know people had uploaded the SNL Muffin rap, they responded by demanding YouTube remove all of their content.
2. They never responded to my multiple e-mails to request permission for this clip of my son watching The Office (he likes it too).
3. The contest requires you to use ONLY select footage from the show. Nothing else.
4. When you submit your entry, you must mark it “private” and let them know the URL.
5. I’ll probably get a letter from NBC attorneys for using this image.

It’s a great idea to have a contest for “consumer created commercials,” but implemented with all of the paranoia of a network viewing online video as a threat. And by the way, there are about 4000 videos on YouTube that are searchable by the phrase “The Office.” Go get ’em.