Vintage USPS Ads
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Coffee Perks You Up! Circa 1940-1950
Here, the indefatigable postman is on the cutting edge of beverage technology. He drinks coffee, so you should too: “For Science says coffee relieves fatigue, actually rests you when tired, and makes your mind clear and alert.” The ad recalls a time when mail carriers commonly stopped and chatted with patrons.
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Plymouth, as Dependable as the Mail: Circa Late 1940s
“I had the first Plymouth in town,” says Russell Peters, a mail carrier from Hammonton N.J. (according to this ad), “and I know of five others that have been sold on my say-so.” Because if a car could withstand the rough, six-day, stop-and-start routine of a rural postal carrier, it could likely withstand regular driving. This ad also played on the consumer's innate trust of the postal worker.
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
The Joy of the Mailman: 1943
This is an ad for Coca-Cola, but you might not know it at first: The jovial military mail carrier, the matronly letter-writer, and the contented service boy all dwarf the tiny Coke emblem at the bottom. Here, the Post Office Department is revered because of its role as the ultimate morale builder—one that can deliver what servicemen miss most: Coke, of course.
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
When You Think of a Watch: 1963
… think of what your postman wears. Just like mail carriers, “neither snow, nor rain, nor dust, nor perspiration” stops the Bulova. The men are standing in front of the James Farley Post Office Building, which bears the famous inscription, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The quote is from ancient Greek historian Herodotus and describes the couriers of the Persian Empire.
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Introducing Mr. Zip: 1963
The Post Office Department pioneered ZIP codes in the summer of 1963 to speed the processing and sorting of the increasingly heavy mail volume. But using the five-number code was initially met with resistance because it was introduced around the same time as telephone area codes. "People didn't want one more number to memorize," Pope explains. They reincorporated a cartoon character, Mr. Zip , who was originally designed for a banking by mail campaign in the 1950s, to enliven the dreary string of numbers and to encourage the public to use them. The USPS retired Mr. Zip in 1986. But while he was at large, post offices across the country commonly displayed his likeness on plywood figurines.
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Whatever You Say, Mr. Tracy: 1970
If you didn't listen to Mr. Zip's reminder to slap a ZIP code on your letter, you would certainly listen to comic book legend Dick Tracy. Especially if he was wearing a “two-way wrist TV.” Who knew what those things could do!
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
The Air Mail Pilot Wants You: Circa 1920s
Between 1918, when airmail began, and 1926, the Post Office Department hired 200 pilots. Thirty-five of them died during flight. As a result, Air Mail pilots (known as the Suicide Club) were revered and beloved for their bravery. "American people had this awe of airmail pilots during this period," Pope says. That's why this ad worked: "You'd do anything Mr. Airmail Pilot says."
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Photograph courtesy Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Speed of Flight: 1946
By the mid-1940s, Americans were less enthralled with airmail pilots and more excited that they could actually afford the service. It originally cost 24 cents (about $3.44 today) per ounce. But after the Post Office Department began dropping the price only a few weeks later, it was common for airmail ads to focus on both the lower cost to remind Americans of its affordability, and its swiftness compared to regular mail, which traveled by train.
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