5. Office Space Made A Star Out Of A Stapler
Poor Milton (Stephen Root). All he ever wanted was his beloved red Swingline stapler. Having been relocated to the basement by his boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), waving goodbye to his prized possession really was the last straw. The stapler didn't actually exist at the time of the film's production. Or rather, it did; but available only in black. This posed a problem to the filmmakers, who found that, amongst the greys of office milieu, the stapler failed to stand out. And so they spray-painted it red. As the film garnered a cult following, it wasn't long before fans wanted a red stapler of their own. Perhaps Milton represented the downtrodden desk worker in all of us (rallying cry: ''They may take our freedom but they'll never take our stationery!'') And so, not so much recognising a marketing potential as having it pointed out to them, Swingline finally bowed to pressure and released the iconic red stapler in 2002.