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By Minda Smiley, Reporter

January 4, 2017 | 2 min read

Forty years ago, Xerox aired its now-classic spot “Brother Dominic” during the Super Bowl. Ahead of this year’s game, the brand is hoping to leverage both nostalgia and Super Bowl buzz with a revamped version of “Brother Dominic” that shows just how far Xerox has come since the ad initially aired.

In the original version, which was created by Needham, Harper & Steers, Brother Dominic is asked to create 500 copies of a manuscript he had just written. Overwhelmed by the task at hand, he suddenly has a light bulb moment when he realizes he can simply make photocopies of the manuscript using Xerox.

The updated version features a similar scenario, but this time Brother Dominic is tasked with a much weightier demand: he must create 500 personalized manuscripts in 35 languages that can be distributed across all seven continents. With the help of Xerox’s language translator and other services, he’s able to seamlessly send both print and digital copies to all recipients (and even prints one copy on a mug).

Created by Y&R New York, the spot kicks off Xerox’s new “Set the page free” campaign that aims to show how Xerox’s photocopying roots have evolved to meet today’s digital demands.

“The ad is the first manifestation of a new communications platform that will be anchored by the tagline Set the Page Free,” said Toni Clayton-Hine, chief marketing officer for Xerox, in a statement. “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 personalization, apps, automation, and security.”

The campaign breaks one day after Xerox officially completed its spinoff of Conduent, the company’s business services branch.

Advertising Xerox Y&R New York

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