OfficeMax brings back 'ElfYourself' campaign

OfficeMax has relaunched its popular 'ElfYourself' holiday campaign in a move to connect the brand with seasonal gift shopping.

“The objective of 'Elf' has always been to get people to put us on their consideration set, and say, ‘Oh, I hadn't thought of that, but I'd look there for a gift there,'” said Bob Thacker, SVP of marketing and advertising at OfficeMax.

The campaign, which is in its fourth year, launched on November 10 on Ellen and is being promoted through a Web site, e-mail effort, in-store signage, insert media and social media. The initiative, which runs through January 15, is aimed at helping OfficeMax retain and acquire customers. OfficeMax targets both small businesses and consumers. ElfYourself.com drives visitors to the OfficeMax e-commerce site.

“ElfYourself has become the viral equivalent of a Christmas tree,” said Thacker. “People want to bring it out every year.”

As in years past, consumers can create free ElfYourself videos online by uploading images of themselves and distributing them to friends via e-mailed cards. The site's 4.0 version features a number of upgrades, including two dances called "Hip Hop Elves" and "Singing Elves,” a Facebook Connect and Twitter sharing application and personalized videos.

Most of the creative was developed internally by OfficeMax, but JibJab Media is powering the site. In addition, OfficeMax worked with Tribal DDB to create a video of 400 elves in New York, which will be released next week. E-Dialog is the e-mail vendor that will power the e-cards.