11698: What The L—WTF.

The fucked-up pitch that awarded the Staples account to mcgarrybowen, Carat and Edelman has resulted in fucked-up advertising. “What the L” plays like a poor man’s “Ship My Pants.”

11163: Staples—That Was Not Easy.

Advertising Age reported on the Staples pitch where the client wound up mixing and matching agencies throughout the review. Ironically, Staples was allegedly “seeking greater collaboration from agency partners.” According to Ad Age, “In an unusual move, the company paired up a handful of agencies on its own and invited them to pitch in teams. Later in the process, it reworked the agency groups and asked its incumbent shops—which include Interpublic Group of Cos’ McCann, WPP’s MediaCom and Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish—to pitch as one team. In the final round, that group of incumbents competed with the Dentsu team.” For a brand known by its iconic “Easy Button,” Staples managed to complicate matters—and demonstrate that agencies will prostitute themselves without hesitation. Choosing The Three Stooges of mcgarrybowen, Carat and Edelman shows the client has low expectations and even lower standards of excellence. Hell, Staples should simply use its in-store Copy&Print services to produce the advertising.

Staples Consolidates Advertising with Dentsu-Owned Shops, Edelman

Retailer Spent $90 Million on Measured Media in 2012

By Alexandra Bruell and Natalie Zmuda

After a review launched earlier this year, Staples has selected Dentsu agencies to handle its North American marketing business.

The team includes McGarryBowen for integrated creative duties and Carat for media. Also on the roster will be independent giant Edelman for PR.

The selection follows Dentsu’s acquisition of Carat parent company Aegis and marks the first time Carat and McGarryBowen have won a piece of business together within the same holding company. Aegis’ IProspect, the incumbent on the search business, also helped pitch the account.

According to people familiar with the matter, Staples launched the review early this year seeking greater collaboration from agency partners. In an unusual move, the company paired up a handful of agencies on its own and invited them to pitch in teams. Later in the process, it reworked the agency groups and asked its incumbent shops—which include Interpublic Group of Cos’ McCann, WPP’s MediaCom and Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish—to pitch as one team. In the final round, that group of incumbents competed with the Dentsu team.

Agencies either couldn’t be immediately reached or declined to comment. Staples didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Steven Fund, senior VP-global brand marketing, is understood to have led the search. He joined Staples in 2010 from Procter & Gamble, where he led the Gillette global business unit.

Santa Monica, California-basd consultancy Select Resources International managed the review. Despite the change, as recently as February, Staples said it was “pleased with the quality of work” from the incumbent agencies. The office retailer said its new strategic plan, launched in 2012 was the impetus for the search. “As part of this effort, we launched a new corporate vision,” a Staples spokeswoman said at the time. “In light of these changes, this is a perfect time to get new thinking on branding and advertising.”

Staples, which also owns B2B supplies brand Quill, spent $90.7 million on U.S. measured media in 2012, according to Kantar Media. That’s down from the $115.8 million it spent in 2011.

The company has struggled with competition from online and big box retailers in the commoditized office supply category. The retailer reported sales of $5.8 billion for the first quarter, a 3% decrease from a year ago. Profits fell 9%.

“We’re gaining momentum in many parts of our business,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ CEO in a statement, following the disappointing earnings. “We’re driving growth online and in categories beyond core office supplies, and we look forward to building on our progress throughout 2013.”

Still, for the winners of the pitch it’s good news in a relatively dry new business year. It’s especially welcome for McGarryBowen, which has had some client losses and management changes in the past year.

In April, John McGarry III—the son of McGarryBowen founder and veteran adman John McGarry – announced his departure from the Dentsu-owned shop where he founded the digital practice. That news came a few months after co-founder Stewart Owen said he was retiring from the agency, and came one year after his father left day-to-day agency operations.

In January, the agency lost its Reebok account and late last year it lost a chunk of its Marriott business. Last summer, it parted with AB Inbev.

Carat, meanwhile, adds to its roster another win. Since picking up General Motors in early 2012, it has won Macy’s, Burberry, GoPro and PlayStation.

8751: Stereotyping With Staples.

How do you compete against Best Buy’s Geek Squad? Staples presents a commercial showing its computer repair department is staffed by Asians—because you know those Asians are digital wizards. That was easy.

7390: You’re Fired. That Was Easy.

From The Chicago Tribune…

The truth doesn’t count

Four years ago, the office supply company Staples accused a sales director named Alan Noonan of padding his expense reports and fired him. The company, though, didn’t let him go quietly. A vice president at Staples sent an e-mail to about 1,500 employees announcing the firing of Noonan and reminding them that compliance with company policies was not optional.

Noonan sued for libel, claiming that he had been singled out for public humiliation and that the company had acted maliciously. No other Staples employee had been called out in such a way for violating company policy.

Normally, such a lawsuit would be tossed out if the accusation against Noonan was true. The U.S. Supreme Court has held for decades that truth is an absolute defense against libel. (Noonan said he was guilty of sloppiness with his expense records.)

A judge in federal district court rejected his complaint, citing the Supreme Court standard. But Noonan appealed, and in February a federal appeals court ruled that he could pursue his claim under a century-old Massachusetts law. That law allows a libel action if a defendant was malicious in his intent, even if what he wrote was the truth.

This ruling has caused journalists to do a double take. They have long operated under the Supreme Court rule that truth is an absolute defense against libel. This ruling is dangerous, and not just for journalists. It opens the door for libel actions against all sorts of truthful speech, if a court finds that the speaker had malicious intent. Think about talk radio. Think about the comment boards on Web sites. Think about Michael Moore documentaries. Think about the e-mails you send. Think about office memos.

The appellate court finding could have a chilling effect on all of them if it stands.

The case went back to the district court, and in October a jury ruled in favor of Staples, finding that the company and its execs had not shown malice toward Noonan. He has appealed, though, arguing the jury wasn’t properly briefed on the Massachusetts law.

So this is still kicking around. It’s a case to watch as it meanders through the courts.