Staples, the venerable office supply retailer celebrating its 40th anniversary, is embarking on a significant brand platform evolution, introducing a dualistic campaign centered around its renowned Easy Button. The new initiative, dubbed "Hard vs. Easy," aims to strategically elevate awareness of the company’s comprehensive enterprise-level services, which are often overshadowed by its long-standing consumer-facing identity. The campaign ingeniously juxtaposes the familiar, problem-solving red Easy Button with a new "Hard Button" alter ego, designed to humorously illustrate the pitfalls of inadequate solutions and the unparalleled simplicity offered by Staples’ business offerings.
The campaign’s cornerstone features a series of advertisements that dramatize common workplace frustrations through the lens of the Hard Button. In debut spots, harried managers are depicted grappling with calamitous scenarios, such as critical shortages of essential restroom supplies or embarrassing typographical errors on prominent store signage – exemplified by a sign mistakenly reading "Golf Sharts" instead of "Golf Shirts." These comical mishaps serve as a stark, humorous contrast to the seamless, efficient outcomes achieved through collaboration with Staples. The visual narrative underscores the brand’s core promise: that for every workplace challenge, there is an "easy" solution, readily available through Staples’ extensive portfolio.
This strategic brand refresh comes at a pivotal moment for Staples, as it navigates a dynamic retail landscape and seeks to solidify its position as a holistic business solutions provider. The company, founded in 1984, has witnessed seismic shifts in the office supply sector, including the ascendance of e-commerce giants and evolving corporate procurement strategies. The "Hard vs. Easy" campaign is therefore not merely a marketing effort but a deliberate recalibration of Staples’ brand narrative, designed to resonate with both business decision-makers and the frontline employees who directly benefit from efficient operational support.
The Evolution of an Icon: From Consumer Staple to Business Powerhouse
The Easy Button, first introduced over two decades ago, quickly cemented itself as a cultural touchstone. Its oversized red design and the accompanying chipper catchphrase, "That was easy!", became synonymous with immediate problem resolution, largely driven by memorable television commercials. However, the retail environment has undergone profound transformations since the Easy Button’s inception. The rise of Amazon significantly disrupted the consumer side of the office supply business, prompting companies like Staples to pivot and intensify their focus on the business-to-business (B2B) sector.
This strategic shift was further underscored by significant corporate restructuring. Following an unsuccessful attempt to merge with rival Office Depot, Staples was acquired by Sycamore Partners in 2017 for $6.9 billion, transitioning from a publicly traded entity to a privately held company. This privatization allowed for a more focused approach to long-term strategy development and investment in key growth areas, including its B2B services.
The Easy Button itself has not remained static. It has undergone several iterations and even temporary retirements over the years. In a notable recent revival, Staples introduced "E.B." last year, a persona conceptualized as a witty thought leader offering online productivity tips, often in collaboration with influencers and ambassadors like Lance Bass. This social-first campaign, developed with Movers+Shakers, represented an effort to engage a digital-native audience. The current "Hard vs. Easy" campaign, however, marks a return to the Easy Button’s foundational roots while simultaneously broadening its scope to encompass a more diverse range of services.
"Hard vs. Easy": A Multi-Platform Offensive
The "Hard vs. Easy" campaign is being deployed across a comprehensive, multi-platform media strategy. The flagship advertisements will be broadcast on major streaming services, including YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix, ensuring broad reach among a diverse audience. Shorter, more digestible versions of the creative content will be disseminated across prominent social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Meta, targeting professional networks and broader consumer engagement.
Beyond digital channels, Staples is implementing a wide-ranging out-of-home advertising plan. This includes strategically placed billboards in high-traffic travel hubs, digital signage in bustling urban centers, and placements within elevator wells of prominent corporate buildings, directly reaching business professionals in their daily commutes and work environments. Complementing these efforts are mid-funnel display and social advertising initiatives, alongside dedicated "Hard vs. Easy" collateral designed to equip Staples’ sales teams with compelling materials for client interactions.
Bob Sherwin, Chief Marketing Officer at Staples, who joined the company in June of the previous year after a decade-long tenure as CMO at Wayfair, articulated the strategic intent behind this expansive media plan. "It’s a platform more than just a campaign," Sherwin stated, "in that we can actually tell many, many of our workplace solution stories through the same storyline construct." This approach emphasizes the enduring nature and adaptability of the "Hard vs. Easy" concept, allowing it to serve as a consistent narrative framework for showcasing the breadth of Staples’ offerings.
Addressing the Perception Gap: Beyond Office Supplies
Despite operating over 900 brick-and-mortar stores, Staples perceives its B2B solutions – encompassing services like furniture consultations, breakroom stocking, and janitorial supplies – as significantly undervalued by the market. Sherwin highlighted Staples’ robust supply chain and same-day delivery capabilities as some of the "best kept secrets in business." The "Hard vs. Easy" campaign is a direct response to what Sherwin identifies as a "perception problem."
"Everyone in America essentially knows Staples, which is a great starting point," Sherwin explained. "But then the challenge is most people, when they hear ‘Staples,’ they think of stores only, and they think of office supplies and ink and toner. We don’t have an awareness problem, we have a perception problem." The campaign aims to dismantle this narrow perception by vividly illustrating the tangible benefits and operational efficiencies that Staples delivers to businesses of all sizes. By showcasing its work with an estimated 75% of Fortune 500 companies, Staples is leveraging its existing enterprise relationships to bolster its market standing and attract new business clients.
While the primary target audience for the campaign comprises business decision-makers and frontline workers, Sherwin anticipates significant crossover appeal. Consumers who utilize Staples for personal projects, such as organizing parties or custom printing needs – services that saw a surge in popularity during the recent holiday season – may also find resonance with the brand’s broader capabilities. This dual-pronged appeal ensures that the campaign’s impact extends beyond the B2B sphere, reinforcing Staples’ multifaceted value proposition.
In-House Innovation and Future Expansion
The conceptualization of the "Hard Button" was a collaborative effort, primarily driven in-house at Staples, with external agency Bandits & Friends providing initial ideation support. The company is also taking a leading role in media planning and execution, demonstrating a commitment to internalizing key marketing functions. This end-to-end ownership of the campaign’s development is seen as crucial for sharpening Staples’ marketing capabilities and ensuring brand message consistency.
Looking ahead, Staples plans to leverage the "Hard vs. Easy" platform extensively as it heads into the critical fourth quarter and the holiday season, a period typically characterized by heightened consumer spending and promotional activity. The brand intends to expand the campaign’s focus to emphasize its consumer-oriented opportunities, acknowledging the enduring importance of its retail customer base. "We are definitely going to leverage this platform, ‘Hard vs. Easy,’ for more gifting and consumer moments," Sherwin confirmed. "That is a big audience for us still and is really important." This strategic expansion signifies Staples’ commitment to a holistic brand strategy that caters to both its B2B and B2C clientele, solidifying its position as a comprehensive solutions provider across the business and consumer spectrum. The enduring legacy of the Easy Button is thus being creatively reimagined to meet the evolving demands of the modern marketplace, ensuring Staples remains relevant and indispensable for the next 40 years and beyond.
