How Mr Zip Signed, Sealed And Delivered

1950s. Our story begins with Howard Wilcox. Designer at Madison Avenue ad agency Cunningham and Walsh. And a postal carrier's son.

Howard created a cartoon character for his client Chase Manhattan, New York. A caricature of a friendly postman. With wide eyes and thin limbs. Carrying an envelope. For their bank-by-mail campaign. With the slogan:

"In rain or hail,

Pay bills by mail."

After a few runs, the campaign was over and filed away. And forgotten.

Early 1960s. The United States Post Office Department (POD) was overwhelmed. By an expanding suburban user base. And ever-growing mail volume.

They devised a new Zoning Improvement Plan (ZIP). Replacing the existing (city postal zone, state) address format. And conceived an automated process to streamline letter delivery.

By shortening State names to two letters. NY for New York. CA for California. And so on.

And by assigning a unique five-digit code. To identify every post office in the country. Which POD's sorting machines would use to route mail directly. From the sender's city all the way to the recipient's. Skipping a long chain of intermediate processing centres.

But this would need senders to add the five-digit codes on the envelope. By hand. For their own address. And for the recipient's address.

Middle-aged Americans were already struggling to remember their Social Security Numbers.

And AT&T shared with POD their own troubles. In getting subscribers to use three-digit area codes. For long-distance telephone calls.

This was the time AT&T bought Howard's cartoon artwork copyright. From Cunningham and Walsh. And donated it to POD.

Miami-based POD artist Joe Lawrence refreshed the design. He kept the character's cheerful face. But resized his hands, legs and torso. And gave him a yellow satchel. Marked "US Mail". Trailing behind him in the wind.

Joe also renamed him. From Mr PO Zone to just Mr ZIP. No first name.

Oct 1962. POD unveiled Mr ZIP at a Postmasters' convention. The organisers photographed every attendee hugging Mr ZIP. They fondly nicknamed him Zippy.

Dec 10, 1962. Newsweek carried an article with the title, "Aunt Minnie’s Tip … Look for Mr Zip."

July 1, 1963. POD rolled out the ZIP Code officially.

Unfamiliar postal customers continued mailing their letters and parcels without a ZIP code.

Partly out of inertia or forgetfulness. Especially in case of senior citizens.

And partly due to reluctance. Many felt the ZIP code "dehumanised" them. Reduced them to the impersonal status of a numeral. In a remote Federal database.

The law obligated POD to deliver First Class Mail even without the ZIP code. Persuading millions to change their behaviour would be a hard sell.

But POD had anticipated this. And planned for it. They launched a meticulous awareness campaign. To get the message out. Appealing to the general public to embrace the new system.

Unleashing Mr ZIP as their lanky trademarked mascot.

Attired in blue. With an orange face. A dashing stride. And a child-like grin.

Symbolising delivery speed. As the whole reason for the change. Giving speed a "personality". Associating it with a "human" face. True to Mr ZIP's very name.

POD featured him in print ads. In dailies and magazines.

In public service broadcasts. On buses and in rapid transit. Convincing people that ZIP Codes would make their lives easier.

In comic strips. His left hand, at times, holding a letter. And, at times, holding on to his hat. To keep it from flying in the breeze.

Explaining how the codes worked. And the rationale for Americans to use them.

Distinguishing the efficient new method. Depicted as a straight arrow. Versus the slow old method. Shown as a crooked line.

Using the caption, "Mail moves the country. Mr ZIP moves the mail".

On coffee mugs. T-shirts. And other retail merchandise.

In mailrooms. And post office lobbies across the country. His figure printed on textured paper. Stuck onto 4.5-foot tall mounted plywood panels. The National Postal Museum has preserved one of these standups until today.

On buttons worn by 50,000 post office window clerks. And on uniforms of 125,000 postmen.

In decals on the rear door of mail delivery vans. On the side of mail trucks.

On the cover of postage stamp booklets. Although never on a stamp itself.

Sep 30, 1963. POD, in its weekly Postal Bulletin, named Mr Zip "Santa’s helper" for the Christmas season. Invited children to include the North Pole’s ZIP Code in their letters to Santa. And instructed their workers to retrieve all such "correctly ZIP-coded" Santa letters from local post offices. And to deliver "replies" to the children. Urging them to convince their parents and grandparents to adopt ZIP codes. Bridging the generation gap. :)

Late 1963. Broadway singer Ethel Merman volunteered to record a Mr ZIP promotional jingle. For radio and TV spots. To the tune of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.

"Welcome to ZIP code, learn it today.

Send your mail out the five-digit way."

Jan 10, 1964: Mr ZIP appeared on the Sam Houston commemorative stamp sheet. Printed in the margin.

May 5, 1964: Mr ZIP figured on the selvage of the Battle of the Wilderness stamp sheet. The first in a series of five issues on the Civil War.

POD used entertainment and fun themes strategically. To make Mr ZIP a "pop culture" icon.

They enlisted celebrities to endorse ZIP Codes.

Mar 1966. Johnny Puleo. Singer, actor and harmonica player. Filmed a TV commercial. Standing beside a Mr Zip cutout. Climbing up a ladder. Saying, "Now remember, use your ZIP Code".

Late 1966. The Swingin' Six musical band. Produced a POD-sponsored variety show for TV. With Mr ZIP alongside. The song lyrics included:

"Meet the fellow called Mr ZIP.

What he can do for you will make you really flip.

So if you have any further postal demands,

We're gonna leave you in his hands."

Their catchy 15-minute film "ZIP Code" won a silver medal. At the 1966 International Film and TV Festival.

Oct 10-15, 1966. 302 cities observed National ZIP Code Week.

1967. POD's campaign had paid off! Within four years of his debut, eight out of ten polled Americans recognised Mr ZIP. And knew what he personified.

1969. By now, Mr ZIP was everywhere in the media. And a household name. A survey reported 83% of respondents complying with ZIP codes.

1971. Congress replaced POD with the United Stated Postal Service (USPS).

Late 1970s. USPS phased Mr ZIP out gradually. But he continued appearing in the blank selvage of new postal stamp issues.

1983. USPS replaced the 5-digit ZIP code with a 9-digit ZIP+4 code. And Mr ZIP went into semi-retirement.

Jan 1986. USPS finally "retired" Mr ZIP. After 22 years of service.

2013. USPS re-introduced Mr ZIP briefly in a new stamp issue. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ZIP Code system.

Today the legend of Mr ZIP lives on.

As a charming hero. Who had won American hearts. And earned their trust. The very essence of marketing a service. Versus marketing a physical product.

As a "salesman" with an enviable career record.

As a success story in Government branding. Long before the world's public sector embraced advertising. For policies and social programs.

Today, USPS has 525,469 full-time employees. Servicing 41,683 ZIP+4 codes nationwide.

And the humble postal code has found widespread use. By logistics fleets to optimise routes. By businesses to earmark sales territories. By marketers to profile customer segments based on geography. By demographers and sociologists to analyse population statistics. By service providers to confirm addresses with geocoding. By town planners to design emergency response systems.

None of which may have been possible in the US. Without the memorable Mr ZIP!

Until next time. Take care. :)

#Mr-Zip #USPS #Marketing #PostalCode