UPS Uses USPS-Inspired Postal Service Music in Ads

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Either UPS has an extremely twisted sense of humor or someone forgot to do their homework. Adrants reader Andrew Teman tells us one of the commercials in the new UPS campaign features a song by the band The Postal Service which, after a dust up with the United States Post Office over its name, sells its CD on the USPS website. The The Postal Service and USPS in bed together, it does seem an odd choice of music to use in a UPS commercial. Are we missing something here?

Written by Steve Hall    Comments (9)     File: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Strange     Jan- 8-07  
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Comments

Good catch. These spots were actually produced by the USPS as a covert attempt to eliminate UPS altogether. The give-away is the guy's hair - no company would knowingly employ that hair on a spokesman.

Posted by: okay. on January 8, 2007 11:29 AM

Oh, who isn't sick of this song already... get with the program.

Posted by: dan on January 8, 2007 03:44 PM

while us adland folks are perplexed...and i am very perplexed...most of us general public bumpkins have no idea what you're talking about.

in a survey of the spot amongst the accounting & HR folk here in the office no one mentioned the music much less wondered why UPS would get into bed with a band with ties to USPS.

Posted by: Scott Burns on January 8, 2007 04:31 PM

Well actually the USPS was upset with the band for their name Postal Service. So, for the band to keep the name, they agreed to let the USPS use the music. And I also believe they did some shows as well. Compromise.

Posted by: EW on January 8, 2007 04:35 PM

What?

Posted by: Brian Thibodeau on January 8, 2007 05:08 PM

What?

Posted by: Brian Thibodeau on January 8, 2007 05:08 PM

The ad is for UPS not The US Postal Service. There is a certain bit of irony here. Who cares what the deal was between the band and the USPS. The ad is for a competitor of the USPS. You almost have to think someone lower down on the foodchain pulled a fast one on the big wigs thinking it would be funny. The band would have had to be in on it as well for licensing purposes. We need more of this in todays advertising world. It's gotten way too predictable.

Posted by: Doug on February 27, 2007 07:20 AM

oh the irony. as someone who actually knows who the postal service is.. as it seems much of your audience doesn't.. it makes ups look bad. and that whiteboard guy better be related to some higher up at the brown, I don't know how else he would have gotten cast.

Posted by: Mark on March 2, 2007 06:57 PM

oh the irony. as someone who actually knows who the postal service is.. as it seems much of your audience doesn't.. it makes ups look bad. and that whiteboard guy better be related to some higher up at the brown, I don't know how else he would have gotten cast. it's not a shitty website, is a shitty slow UPS website.

Posted by: Mark on March 2, 2007 06:59 PM

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