Itasca-based office-products company Boise Office Solutions has a new weapon to fight its big-box rivals: Keenan the Rubberband man.
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Going aggressively after the business-to-business office supplies market share held by Staples and Office Depot, Boise on Dec. 28 will launch its first campaign for the OfficeMax retail chain it acquired this month, featuring humor and a hero office-supply clerk.
Set to the music of the Spinners’ “Rubberband Man,” the debut 60-second spot features Keenan, played by actor Eddie Steeples, delivering office supplies to hapless workers who have everything from copy-machine toner problems to messy desks.
As he disco dances between cubicles, shuffling office supplies on his cart that sports its own rubberband ball twirling like a disco ball, the smiling Keenan anticipates their every need.
The new tagline, “What’s your thing?” reflects OfficeMax’s drive to be flexible with its customers, ranging from small to large businesses.
The humorous campaign, from a team lead by creative director Don Pogany at DDB Chicago, is the first since Boise took the risky step of acquiring the retail unit for $1.3 billion. And it comes amid criticism that Boise may be too late to a field crowded with too much competition.
Not so, says Boise Office Solutions chief Chris Milliken.
“What I told [the agency] to do was break out a little bit. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and be memorable,” Milliken said. “The whole personalization of it applies to all customers of all sizes.”
The challenge for the campaign will be to attract everyone, from the smallest home-office worker to larger companies that now make up the bulk of Boise’s business.
Getting business customers to think OfficeMax has been a major challenge. Its $4.8 billion in sales pales compared with the roughly $11 billion each of Staples and Office Depot. Still, Milliken is confident.
“We did a lot of research before the merger, and the brand recognition of OfficeMax is incredibly high,” he said.
Though he wouldn’t comment on how much will be spent on the campaign, Milliken said it will be similar to the roughly $25 million to $30 million that was spent on the brand before Boise landed it.
Fries time for DDB: DDB Chicago is expected to land the first global advertising assignment for McDonald’s Corp.’s french fries after a jump ball that included several of its global agencies. Leo Burnett earlier won a contest for a global Big Mac promotion.
`American’ theme for Chevy: General Motors’ Chevrolet division, which spends roughly $800 million annually on advertising, unleashes its first advertising unifying its cars and trucks under one theme. Beginning with billboards on Friday, Chevy, which used “Like a Rock” for two decades for its trucks and various themes for its car models during the past few years, will sport the “An American Revolution” tagline. Only the Silverado truck line will continue to use the “Like a Rock” theme, Chevy executives said on Thursday.
The company moves to the new theme as it plans to roll out 10 new Chevy cars and trucks during the next 20 months.
The campaign, from longtime Chevy agency Campbell-Ewald, includes a 60-second anthem spot that will launch New Year’s Eve on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.” The ad, “Carrier,” which was shot by film director Michael Bay, shows a fast-moving car-carrier truck dropping its ramp to pick up various Chevy cars while its moving. The special-effects laden ad uses Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” as a backdrop.
“There is such a fragmentation of media, you have to make sure your creative breaks through,” said new Chevy advertising director Kim Kosak as to why Chevy decided to streamline the marketing message.
More shake-ups at Burnett: Erik Martinez, Leo Burnett USA’s chief financial officer for the past two years, has left the agency after a falling out with top management. A spokeswoman for the agency said that Martinez left “to pursue other interests.” Bob Maloney, a 13-year veteran of the agency, was promoted to his spot from vice president, director of client finance.