Could Ads on Packages Subsidize Shipping Costs?

Shipping boxes may be a good place to sell advertising, and the USPS and Amazon have already tried out the concept. In a recent article, RetailWire said beauty brand Revlon paid to have 10 million Amazon shipping boxes branded with its name as part of a campaign dubbed "the Love Project." 

The marketing experts with whom the publication spoke thought it was great idea, as long as it wasn't done to the point where customers begin to tune out the ads.

The Revlon campaign is the second to utilize Amazon shipping boxes - in 2015, cartoon characters from the Despicable Me sequel "Minions" appeared on special bright yellow boxes sent by select Amazon fulfillment centers.

At the time, an Amazon spokesperson told us the branded boxes were sent for both Amazon.com and third-party FBA-seller orders (sellers who use Fulfillment By Amazon).

The concept goes back even further. In 2014, the USPS collaborated with Sony Pictures to bring Spider Man to Priority Mail boxes, trucks, and marketing messages to promote the movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

One downside to more widespread use of ads on packages would be the potential to turn off customers. Companies can't always predict what might offend their customers, particularly in an ad displayed on a package going into their homes.

Sellers such as those who use Fulfillment by Amazon would have no control over ads that appear on packages to their customers - sellers could be just as offended as buyers, or be concerned that the ads might reflect poorly on them. 

There would be no upside for those sellers - just as with advertising on their platforms, online marketplaces are unlikely to share any ad revenue from shipping boxes with sellers. 

What do you think of ads appearing on shipping boxes? And what about package inserts inside the packages (in the case of fulfillment services like Amazon) that promote other brands and sellers? 

Would you be more responsive to the idea if it helped you save on shipping costs?