BOCA RATON, FLA. –
A Christian
right group has taken umbrage with Office
Depot’s support of Lady Gaga’s
Born This Way Foundation, which encourages
young people to accept themselves
and others.
The Tampa-based Florida Family Association
believes that the retailer’s $1
million pledge to the charity — raised
through the sale of back-to-school products
with inspirational messages like
“Be Yourself” and “Be Accepting” — will
sway teens toward a gay lifestyle.
“Thousands of kids who might have
otherwise worked through their pubescent
sexual identity issues will be
inspired to accept the wrong choice
based upon this unscientific, emotionally
charged propaganda,” the group said in
a web posting.
The group has launched an email
campaign urging the chain to rescind its
million-dollar pledge.
Office Depot announced its support
of Gaga’s foundation last month. In a
statement issued to TWICE, the retailer said, “All of our customers are extremely
important to us, and we communicate
with them as needed on a daily basis …
It is our hope that all of our customers
share our desire to have schools that
provide a kinder and braver environment
for kids to learn and develop.”
Born This Way Foundation also posted
a blog on its website that read: “There’s
been a lot of talk about the goals of our
organization this week. We care deeply
about empowering youth and building a
kinder and braver world for all people …
and we are proud to have Office Depot
as a partner towards this goal.”
Limited edition products include
$20 “empowerment” gift cards with
one of six inspirational messages on
the front: “Be Brave,” “Be Amazing,”
“Be Yourself,” “Be Kind,” “Be Accepting”
and “Be Involved.” Also available
are limited-edition Post-It Notes,
Sharpie pens, and “bravery bracelets”
that feature the gift card messages
and the foundation’s logo.
All are available exclusively at Office
Depot, both in stores and online at
and
. The chain will donate 25
percent of the sales of the products directly
to Born This Way, with a guaranteed
donation of $1 million this year.
Separately, TV personality Nick Cannon
is being featured in a new back-toschool
ad campaign for the office supply
chain that highlights school items and
tech products, including his own NCredible
line of Monster headphones.
The new ads are an extension of Office
Depot’s current “Depot Time” campaign,
launched earlier this year, which
positions it as “a dedicated partner that
parents, teachers and students can depend
on for all of their back-to-school
needs,” the company said.
The latest spots, aimed at teens, show
Cannon interacting with “Rachel,” a
helpful and friendly sales associate who
shows how Office Depot can help him
save time and money.
The chain added Cannon’s headphone
line earlier this summer, and was
the official sponsor of his Ncredible Entertainment’s
5th Annual Take Action
Leadership Campaign to assist Los Angeles
students.
“Nick is an overwhelming favorite of
all of our back-to-school shoppers, and
is particularly in tune with the pulse of
young America,” said Bob Moore, executive
VP and chief marketing officer
for Office Depot. “We share his commitment
to deliver great style and value for
today’s students.”
