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School's "IN" for Legendary Rocker Alice Cooper...

Who Made a Surprise Visit at Staples Business Depot Today Alice Cooper seen back-to-school shopping at Staples Downtown Toronto

Famed rocker Alice Cooper shopped the aisles of Staples Business Depot in Toronto today. Employees and customers were shocked when the Rock icon walked into the Staples store on University Avenue and began shopping for office and school supplies. Cooper stars in Staples newest back-to-school commercial campaign. The commercial uses Cooper's legendary theme song "School's Out" to support the company's back-to-school promotion.

Cooper is in Toronto as part of a North American tour in support of his latest album, "The Eyes of Alice Cooper".

"The commercial is the kind of imaginative advertising Staples has long been known for - reinforcing our brand messages while bringing a smile to the consumer's face using empathetic humor," says Doug Laphen, VP of Marketing in Canada at Staples Business Depot. The 30-second spot will begin airing in Canada on Aug 16.

The commercial depicts Cooper in the role of a father shopping for back-to-school supplies with his distressed daughter, who obviously is unhappy about the prospect of returning to school. What unfolds is a struggle that is familiar with most parents: however, this exchange incorporates the lyrics from Cooper's hit song into the plot.

"School's Out" was first released during the summer of 1972, and has become one of the most famous rock songs of all time.

Staples will also air a new version of its popular Back-to-School ad using the Christmas classic song 'It's the most wonderful time of the year' called the 'Show Down'. The ad humorously opens on a principal waltzing around the store shopping for Back-to-School supplies only to find that all the chalk board erasers have been deliberately hoarded by a familiar detention prone 10-year-old student standing next to him in the aisle.

Both ads stay true to Staples' witty, humorous advertising approach.

About Staples Business Depot

The Business Depot Ltd. was founded in Toronto in 1991. It is Canada's largest supplier of office supplies, business machines, office furniture and business services for the small business and home office customer. The company is an everyday low price retailer. The chain operates stores in all provinces across Canada under the banners STAPLES(R) Business Depot(TM) and BUREAU EN GROS(TM). The company has over 11,500 employees serving customers through more than 220 office superstores, catalogue, and e-commerce. STAPLES(R) Business Depot(TM)/BUREAU EN GROS(TM) is committed to making shopping easy by offering customers three ways to shop - on-line, by catalogue and in-store. In addition to the Canadian operation, Staples Inc. has stores operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.