Alice In Staples
Category: Advertising... Music...
Posted Tuesday, August 10, 2004 at 10:10 PM [GMT-6]

I just saw a great new back-to-school commercial for Staples featuring Alice Cooper. Cooper is in full stage makeup and is loading a shopping cart with school supplies while his pre-teen daughter leans against a counter, arms crossed and pouting.

"I thought you said school's out forever," she says to him in an accusing tone.

"No. What I said was that school's out for summer. Nice try, though."

I find odd comfort in the unchanging fact that commercials on broadcast TV are more entertaining than the programming that surrounds them.

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Comments

Staples always has funny "back to school" ads.

I think it was last year or the year before they had a parent dancing around filling the shopping carriage with school supplies while playing the holiday carol, "It's The Most Wondeful Time Of The Year".

Camera close-up of dad raining pencils into the carriage, laughing with joy.

Cuts to a downward POV of his sullen children glaring at him with hate.

Tracking shot of dad with the carriage, skipping down the aisles.

...followed by his two children slowly trailing along, heads hung in despair.

Great stuff. It caught the feeling of every single adult who's glad that everyone under the age of 18 is going to be locked up for the better part of each day until NEXT June.

Watch it here.

http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=372

Posted by: Mr. Freen at August 12, 2004 12:37 AM

I guess I haven't been paying attention in the past because I don't remember any previous commercials...but the back-to-school period is, as you point out, a near universally-recognized time of trauma and joy, depending on your perspective. Anytime you have such conflicting perceptions, you have great fodder for entertainment.

Posted by: Eric at August 12, 2004 08:45 AM
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