This is a competition for people who are looking for fame rather than fortune. Fans of The Office may (or may not) be delighted to know that their is an official contest calling for people to submit designs that would be used on t-shirts sold on NBC’s shopping website.

I like The Office. It is good light-hearted fun. I don’t think the US version is as funny as the original, or as cringe-worthy, but it is still entertainment. It is much more successful though. I think the main reason, apart from the American audience, is that the main character of the US version, while an ass most of the time, has some redeeming qualities. He is an altogether more sympathetic character.

Anyway, back to the competition. The prizes are pretty lame when you consider the large cash prizes offered at other contests. It is even worse when you consider the amount of money NBC are likely to profit from you designs. On the other hand, The Office brand is the main reason that the winning tees will sell. Unless of course the design is so amazing that non-The Office fans want to wear it too. We’ll see. Prizes below.

GRAND PRIZE
Your design will be sold exclusively through The NBC Store!
10 free T-shirts (when produced)
Choice of any three t-shirts from NBCstore.com
Dunderize Your Cube
DM Shot Glass (four pack)
Lunch Bag
Exclusive Dwight Bobblehead Golf Balls (3)
Star Mug Set
RUNNER UP PRIZES (2)
Choice of any two t-shirts from NBCstore.com
Dunderize your cube
DM shot glasses (four pack)
Andy Star Mug

Deadline for t-shirt submission is Thursday, January 29th at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET. Official ratings period ends January 31, 2009. Based on the ratings they will narrow the submissions down to the Top 20 t-shirts, which will then be submitted to the producers of “The Office.” The show will choose the winning three designs. (Read more…)

Of course if you are not much of a designer or don’t think you have a chance of winning but you do want to get your hands on some The Office gear you can buy straight from the NBC website or even from Cafepress.