The original ‘Brother Dominic’ advert from 40 years ago
The OEM has revised a “beloved commercial” as part of promotion after its split.
Xerox announced at the beginning of 2016 that it planned to split into two companies before the end of the year, with the split into Conduent and Xerox – for business process optimisation and hardware respectively, and worth $11 billion (€10.1 billion) and $7 billion (€6.4 billion) respectively. Xerox’ new CEO was revealed to be Jeff Jacobson, while Ashok Vemuri will run Conduent.
During November, the OEM’s board approved the split and said it would take place by 31 December, with The Recycler reporting earlier this week that the split had been completed, and Xerox also commented, stating that it is beginning “a new chapter as [a] focused industry leader in digital print technology”. Its “executive leadership team” rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday as part of the split process.
Xerox has now unveiled a new television advert “led by a contemporary twist on a beloved commercial” to “usher in its next chapter”, with the advert describing the OEM’s “focused direction to innovate the way organisations of all sizes communicate, connect and work”. The advert harks back to its ‘Brother Dominic’ advert that was produced 40 years ago “in one of the most famous Super Bowl advertisements of all time”, but Xerox pointed out that “much has changed”.
In the original advert, Brother Dominic uses a Xerox copier to “simply duplicate” manuscripts, but in the new advert, “translates, personalises and securely shares his creation both physically and digitally across all devices, all over the globe”. The advert will be shown in both 30- and 60-second adverts on television and online in the US, created by Y&R NY and director James Rouse and “inspired by” Allen Kay, who created the original advert.
Toni Clayton-Hine, Chief Marketing Officer for Xerox, commented: “The ad is the first manifestation of a new communications platform that will be anchored by the tagline Set the Page Free. It offers a nod to Xerox’s heritage, reflects our present and embraces our future by showing how Xerox has evolved to help companies connect both the physical and digital world through personalisation, apps, automation, and security.”
The advert, which you can view below, shows the character aim to “create 500 manuscripts in 35 languages, personalised and distributed across seven continents”, and the OEM noted that it shows “how Xerox helps him accomplish a virtual miracle – with digital technology, apps and software to translate, personalise and securely share his document … and even print it as a mug!”.