• by Larissa Faw , January 8, 2015

Office Depot and OfficeMax is essentially a new company formed by a merger last year and now the retail chain and its advertising agency McCann are introducing "Gear Up For Great," a new brand platform and campaign that serves as a reintroduction to this new company.

The campaign's concept focuses on how Office Depot and OfficeMax can help equip small business owners and consumers with the gear they need to perform at their peak.

“We believe the phrase 'office supplies' doesn't really do justice to the Office Depot Office Max business offering," says Tom Murphy, McCann NY’s chief creative officer. "Their supplies are actually performance gear to help businesses and consumers succeed. By reframing the conversation from supplies to gear, we are better defining Office Depot and Office Max, and also celebrating the products, and the people, that make small businesses great.”

Launching this month, the campaign includes national cable, spot TV, network radio -- all of which span early morning, news, entertainment and sports programming. Meanwhile, spot TV will run in over 50 key markets across the country featuring 30- and 15-second ads that illustrate how the store enables office workers to excel by providing them with essential equipment, like a portable printer on a business trip or a file folder system that leads to effective organization. At the same time, the campaign is introducing digital and social media initiatives including the #gearlove program, as well as a presence on Hulu, YouTube and Yahoo, among others.

Office Depot named Interpublic Group's McCann and UM as its advertising and media agencies of record in September 2014.