Walk into any office or college dorm room in the mid-2000s and you’d likely see it. A big, obnoxious red circle sitting on a desk, just waiting for someone to smack it. You hit it, and a calm, slightly smug male voice tells you: "That was easy." It was the that was easy button, a piece of plastic that became an accidental cultural titan.
It’s weird to think about now. Staples, a massive office supply chain, managed to turn a 30-second commercial gimmick into a physical object that people actually paid money for. It wasn’t a tech breakthrough. It didn't solve a problem. It just... was. But if you look at the history of marketing, specifically how Staples used this specific red button to save their brand, it’s actually kind of a masterclass in psychological branding.
They sold millions of these things. Millions. People weren't just buying office supplies; they were buying a feeling. That feeling was the relief of finishing a task. Honestly, it’s one of the most successful examples of "sensory branding" in the history of American retail.
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The Ad Campaign That Changed Staples Forever
Before the button existed, Staples had a problem. They were seen as a warehouse. Cold. Boring. A place where you get lost in aisles of manila folders and overpriced ink cartridges. In 2002, they hired the ad agency McCann-Erickson to fix their image. The goal was simple: make shopping for office supplies feel less like a chore and more like a win.
The "Easy" campaign was born.
The first commercials featured a magical button that solved impossible problems. A giant "Easy" button would appear, someone would hit it, and suddenly a parade would start or a massive project would finish itself. It was funny. It was relatable. But it was just a prop.
Then something happened that Staples didn't expect. Customers started coming into stores asking where they could buy the button. They didn't want the staplers as much as they wanted the symbol of the stapler being easy to find. Staples realized they were sitting on a goldmine. They weren't just a store anymore; they were a solution.
Turning a Prop Into a Product
In 2005, Staples officially put the that was easy button on sale for five dollars. It was a genius move. They weren't trying to make a profit on the hardware itself—though with over 5 million units sold by the late 2000s, they definitely did—they were creating a physical touchpoint for their brand in people's homes and offices.
Think about the psychology here. Every time a frustrated accountant or a tired student hit that button, they heard the brand's catchphrase. It was a dopamine hit associated with a corporation. That’s the kind of marketing you can't buy with a Super Bowl ad.
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It’s important to remember that this was before the iPhone. Before Alexa. We didn't have smart buttons or instant-gratification apps. The physical sensation of hitting a button and getting an immediate audio response was satisfying in a way that’s hard to explain to someone who grew up with a touchscreen. It was tactile. It was loud.
The Cultural Ripple Effect
The button didn't stay in the office. It leaked into everything. Hackers started taking them apart to make them say different things. Some people turned them into light switches. Others used the internal circuitry to trigger more complex electronics. It became a staple (pun intended) of the "maker" community long before that was even a mainstream term.
Even the legal world got involved. Staples actually had to defend the trademark and the design of the button. They knew that the red circle with the white text was their "Golden Arches." If you saw a red button, you thought Staples.
But why did it work so well? Leslie Wexner, the retail mogul, often talked about how retail is theater. Staples turned a boring transaction into a performance. The that was easy button was the souvenir from the show. It gave people a way to interact with a brand that, quite frankly, is mostly known for selling paper and pens.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Button
A lot of people think the button was just a joke that got out of hand. They assume it was a fluke. But if you look at the data from that era, Staples' brand recognition skyrocketed exactly when the button became a meme. It wasn't an accident. It was a calculated pivot from "low prices" to "low stress."
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the button was just a toy. In reality, Staples used the proceeds from the button sales to donate millions to organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It served as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) vehicle while simultaneously acting as the world's most effective business card.
The voice itself is another point of interest. It isn't a celebrity. It’s a guy named Johnny Guy, who was a copywriter at the ad agency. They tried professional voice actors, but they all sounded too "announcer-y." They wanted someone who sounded like a helpful coworker. Someone who wasn't judging you for struggling with the printer. That nuance—the specific tone of "That was easy"—is why it didn't get annoying as fast as other talking toys.
The Death of the Physical Button?
As we moved into the 2010s and 2020s, the physical button started to fade. Staples tried to modernize it. They launched an "Easy System" that used AI and voice recognition. They tried to make it like an Amazon Dash button where you could press it to reorder supplies.
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It didn't have the same magic.
The original that was easy button worked because it was useless. It didn't try to sell you anything after you bought it. It just gave you a win. When they tried to turn it into a sales tool, it lost the charm. It went from a "friend" to a "salesman."
Today, you can still find them. They’re on eBay. They’re in the back of junk drawers. But their legacy is mostly in how brands think about simplicity. Every time you see a "one-click" checkout or a "simple" mode on an app, you're seeing the ghost of that red button. It taught a whole generation of marketers that the best way to win a customer is to make their life feel just a little bit less complicated for two seconds.
Real-World Lessons from the Red Button
If you’re running a business or building a brand, the Staples story offers some pretty heavy lessons. It’s not about the plastic. It’s about the emotional bridge.
- Symbols over Features: People don't care about the specs of your product as much as they care about how it makes them feel. The button represented the end of a hard day.
- Physicality Matters: In a world that's increasingly digital, having something your customer can actually touch creates a deeper psychological bond.
- Consistency is King: Staples didn't change the voice. They didn't change the color. They kept the message identical for years until it was burned into the collective consciousness.
There’s also something to be said for the "unintentional product." Sometimes your customers tell you what they want. Staples listened. They saw people reacting to a prop and they pivoted. That kind of agility is rare in big corporate environments, but when it happens, you get something as iconic as the that was easy button.
How to Apply the "Easy" Philosophy Today
You don't need to manufacture a plastic button to get this right. The core idea is about reducing friction. Friction is the enemy of every customer experience.
Think about your own workflow. What’s the "red button" in your life? Maybe it’s a specific app that simplifies your taxes, or a coffee machine that actually works every morning. We are all searching for that feeling of hitting a button and having things just... work.
Staples might not be the powerhouse it once was, and the office supply industry has been gutted by digitalization, but that button remains one of the greatest marketing wins of the 21st century. It took a boring, utilitarian store and made it human. It gave us a catchphrase for our small victories.
Next time you finish a grueling project or finally clear out your inbox, you might find yourself saying it under your breath. That was easy. Even without the button, the brand lives in your head. That’s the real power of a good idea.
If you're looking to simplify your own business or branding, start by identifying your "friction points." Where are your customers getting stuck? Where are they feeling overwhelmed? Your goal shouldn't be to give them more options. It should be to give them a way to feel finished.
- Audit your customer’s journey and find the single most frustrating moment.
- Create a "symbolic" win for that moment—something that acknowledges their progress.
- Keep your messaging incredibly simple. If you can't explain your value in three words, you're overcomplicating it.
- Focus on the relief, not the transaction.
The red button wasn't a toy; it was a promise. And even twenty years later, that’s a promise people are willing to pay for. It’s kind of wild when you think about it. A piece of plastic changed how we think about productivity forever. It's not about working harder. It's about finding the button that makes it all stop for a second. That's the real lesson.
Staples proved that you don't need a complex strategy if you have a deep understanding of human frustration. We all just want things to be easier. The button just gave us permission to celebrate when they finally were.
Now, go find your own version of that win. It’s probably simpler than you think. Honestly, it usually is. Just look for the friction and kill it. That’s how you build a brand that lasts. That’s how you stay relevant when everything else is changing. It’s not magic; it’s just good business.
Don't overthink the "easy" part. If it feels like you're trying too hard, you probably are. The best solutions usually feel like they should have existed all along. Like a big red button on a messy desk.