Back in February, we learned that Boca-Raton-based Office Depot OfficeMax had ended its relationship with IPG after two years with McCann New York and UM as its creative and media agencies, respectively, and moved both accounts to Fort Lauderdale Omnicom agency Zimmerman Advertising without a review.
Zimmerman had handled the account, beginning in 2011, before the chain selected McCann New York and UM following a review in the summer of 2014.
In its first campaign for Office Depot, Zimmerman seems to look towards the chain’s advertising past. The campaign revives the 1974 Bachman-Turner Overdrive song “Takin’ Care of Business” as Office Depot’s theme song in a spot that promises Office Depot will “Take care of you” so that you can “Take care of business.” Office Depot introduced the song as its theme in the late 80s (the last time it would have been remotely appropriate to use) and “has not used [it] in at least five years” according to AdAge.
Always a bit too on-the-nose for a chain selling business supplies, the song seems more outdated than ever in 2017. The spot is built around the song to a grewat extent, utilizing it in its copy and the “Taking care of business” taline. Clearly the approach is meant to differentiate Office Depot from competitors like Amazon, citing its specificity while simultaneously championing it as a destination for both school and office supplies, but the execution stumbles. In addition to the 30-second spot, there’s also a 15-second one focusing on back-to-school supplies, extending back-to-school seasonal creep nearly to the beginning of summer vacation. The campaign also includes radio, digital and social components.
“Our brand needs a bit of refreshing,” Office Depot vice president, marketing Diane Nicks told AdAge. “‘Taking care of business’ is more than just a tagline, it’s really how we’re going to connect emotionally with customers.”
“Amazon can have as many products and drones as you can imagine, but they don’t have the same focus and care about business,” added Zimmerman CEO Michael Goldberg.
We’ll see about that, won’t we?