Eaton’s and Celtic fiddler Ashley MacIsaac – not the most obvious mix.

But the department store chain, intent on revamping its staid image, features the ultra-hip Canadian musician in its latest back-to-school television spots.

‘We want people to think we have a youthful, vibrant image,’ says Peter Housley, vice-president of marketing at Eaton’s.

The spots, which use the company’s new tag line ‘Only at Eaton’s,’ and combine a frenetic pace with a traditional Canadian down-home quality, were created in-house, after the company parted ways about 18 months ago with Toronto-based shop Bensimon-Byrne.

‘We’re setting the standard for retail advertising,’ says Housley, adding the commercials are as good as any agency could create.

The 60-sec. spot features Eaton’s house collections while the 30-sec. spot highlights the company’s denim fashions.

The ‘Only at Eaton’s’ tag line is an update on the ‘We want to be your store’ theme of a few years ago, says Housley, and it is intended to promote the company’s house brands in the clothing, linen, and tableware categories.

Housley says he hopes the new ‘Only at Eaton’s’ line, which will appear in all newspaper, television and radio advertising, as well as on the company’s new shopping bag, will meet with the same success as the ‘Only at Bloomingdale’s’ insignia enjoys in the u.s.

However, Eaton’s is not just concentrating on building its private labels, says Housley. The company is also emphasizing it value pricing in an era when industry reports suggest department stores are struggling to compete against the everyday low pricing strategies of general merchandisers like Wal-Mart.

‘The Wal-Marts of the world have changed the perception of what consumers will pay for things,’ says Housley.

Accordingly, in an attempt to drive traffic, Eaton’s is holding a back-to-school special of 25% off of all its denim, including name brands like Levis.

Housley won’t reveal what percentage of casual clothing sales are attributable to denim but it’s an area where the company is concentrating its effort, with a special glossy insert and the tv spot.

Like many popular jeanswear brands, Eaton’s house brand Attitude comes in five fits and several colors, and is packaged in cardboard sleeves. ‘Our packaging can out-Gap the Gap,’ says Housley.

Eaton’s is also introducing its Eaton Home dinner collection this fall. The dinnerware, which is on sale the first week of September, includes patterns that mix and match in several popular colors.