Before the advent of YouTube, TV commercials were the most oft-talked-about video clips – that’s why people still shout ‘I smell burnt toast!’ in the lunch room every time someone burns a bagel. One memorable classic from the 1990s was Staples’ classic back-to-school ad, set to the tune of Andy William’s ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,’ with a euphoric father doing pirouettes down the store aisles while his sour kids look on.

On Aug. 3, Staples will start airing a remake of that commercial (originally by New York-based Cliff Freeman), created by Canada’s MacLaren McCann, on specialty channels YTV, Teletoon and A channel. Media was handled by Retail Media, a division of MediaCom Worldwide. The campaign also extends to radio and print ads across the country, which will also use the ‘Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ tagline, says Sandy Salmon, director of advertising at Staples Canada.

‘We actually did research, because there was an affiliation with that song with Staples,’ Salmon tells MiC. They discovered that there was 33% unaided recall making linking that song to the chain, even though the last time it aired was in 1995. ‘They don’t really remember the actors, they don’t remember the actual people in the spot, but they remember miserable, unhappy kids.’