Stampvertising – Disney Makes Our Five Years Go Postal
posted by Dan Filler
Today I noticed that the U.S. Post Office is selling a new commemorative series called “Romance”, featuring various Disney characters – most notably several of their princesses. The 20 stamp sheet includes Belle and the Beast, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Minnie and Mickey, and Lady and the Tramp. There are many interesting aspects to this marketing campaign but one that struck me immediately was the fact that, with this series, stamps have been fully hijacked as a component of a major national marketing campaign.
As any parent of a young girl would surely tell you, Disney 2006 is all about Princesses. The company has figured out one hundred different ways to package Belle, Ariel, Mulan, Pochahantas, Cinderella, Aurora (i.e., Sleeping Beauty), and Snow White. (Am I missing some?) DVD’s, stadium shows, dress-up clothing. The Disney Princess is the ultimate cultural icon for the (pardon the product allusion) American Girl. What is Disney World, after all, but simply a place one goes to see – and hopefully snare autographs from – Princesses. How often need I repeat this? Disney = Princesses.
So whatever excuses the USPS might have for offering these stamps – nostalgia (for the old days of Beauty and the Beast?), a nod to artistry (fair enough, but doesn’t Walt get enough of these?), whatever – the bottom line is that they must be producing serious money for both Disney and the Post Office. For Disney, these stamps are phenomenal advertising. (I wonder if the USPS pays licensing fees for use of the images. I doubt it.) It’s good for the Post Office because the sheets are dandy collectors’ items. What five year old girl, spying these stamps in a display case, would not demand their immediate purchase? Mine did! And the scary thing is that the price is downright cheap. I’d probably drop six bucks for twenty stickers at Disneyland. With this sheet, the kid comes home happy AND I can use them as stamps (once she forgets about them.)
But once you’ve signed on to supporting the current Disney marketing blitz, how do you justify stopping there? Does it really make sense to promote only media properties, when there’s so much other advertising money out there? I expect to see much more stampvertising in the future. The Swoosh seems like an innocuous next step. But how long can it be until the stamp screams “GoDaddy” or “Motorola Razr” or perhaps “Mission Impossible 5, Opening June 5.” We’ll know the PO is in trouble with the arrival of the first FedEx stamp.
For now, the Post Office may argue that the Romance series isn’t so much advertising as a nod to old movies. And cynics may note that Disney has long been a postal favorite, that the PO has been carrying Walt’s water for a long time. But these stamps feel a bit different, in part because these particular characters are very much part of today’s buzzing marketplace. Soon we’ll just have to accept that stamps – like ballparks or transit passes – are just another billboard for rent.
Oh well. Stamps remain the public commons, of a sort. I like the idea that stamps celebrate history and culture – even if the line between these things, and commerce – has long since evaporated. For many people without kids, the new Romance stamps must appear sweet, a nod to childhood past. But there are millions of parents who know better. Disney fills my snailmailbox, emailbox, cereal box, and every other available space with ads promoting these Princesses. I can live with the cute Disney stamps. But we’re staring down a slippery slope, and I’m not sure I’ll be as excited about the first Charmin commemorative.
May 15, 2006 at 1:05 am
Posted in: Advertising
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Responses (2)
John Armstrong - May 15, 2006 at 2:21 am
Hey, you do what you gotta do to get by. Cutting what amounts to an advertising deal with a solid moneymaker like Disney is certainly easier than, say, investing in customer service.
bill - May 16, 2006 at 8:46 pm
Re: the princess list — you forgot Jasmine.
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