(), often erroneously spelled "'''Office Max'''", is an office supplies retailer founded in
1987 and headquartered in
Itasca, IL It is the third-largest
Office Supplies retailer in the
USA , behind
Staples and
Office Depot . The company was acquired by
Boise Cascade in
2003 , and has undergone numerous internal changes since then, including rebranding its
Copy and
Print centers from '''CopyMax''' to '''OfficeMax Print & Document Services'''. This change was primarily to take advantage of the name recognition that OfficeMax enjoys. The
Furniture section of the retail stores is often marketed separately as '''FurnitureMax'''. OfficeMax has over 900 locations in the USA (including Puerto Rico) and over 40 locations in
Mexico , and an on-line retailer in
Canada (officemax.ca) and the
USA (officemax.com).
Recent performance woes, including poor sales, are related to an accounting scandal and the departure of two top-level officials in early
2005 .
The chain's in-store
Copy and
Print centers and
Furniture departments are often marketed separately as "OfficeMax Print & Document Services" (PDS) and "FurnitureMax".
For most of the chain's history, their advertising
Mascot was a faceless
Animated Stick Figure called "StickMax". In
2004 , they would unveil a colorful new character unlike anything ever seen in the usually staid world of office supplies retail advertisement.
For the back-to-school season - traditionally, the biggest sales promotion of the year for office supplies retailers - the "Rubberband Man" made his debut. Based on and featuring the
1976 hit by
The Spinners , OfficeMax's Rubberband Man is a slender
African American with a large misshapen
Afro and flamboyantly colored clothing. The character is played by
Dance r/
Actor Eddie Steeples (now playing Darnell on ''
My Name Is Earl ''), who was voted one of
People Magazine 's ''Sexiest Men of
2004 ''. He dances as he hands out school supplies to kids on summer vacation. Some have suggested that the character is based on
André 3000 of the
Hip Hop duo
Outkast .
For the
Christmas season, the Rubberband Man was back handing out Christmas presents, this time as a
Stop Motion animated
Puppet in the style of the classic
Rankin-Bass Television Special ''
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer ''. The
Emmy -nominated ad campaign was created by the advertising firm
DDB Chicago and has earned praise from African-American civic leaders for its portrayal of a black spokesman who is ''not'' a professional athlete or entertainer.
