The USPS kicked off a new TV commercial for the holiday season on November 6, 2024, called “The Holiday Ride.” The 30-second commercial shows postal workers accepting packages in a Post Office, charging up new electric delivery vehicles, and delivering a USPS Ground Advantage package.
“Over 600,000 USPS employees working in sync to ensure everything sent on its holiday ride ends with a moment of joy. The United States Postal Service,” a narrator says.
Last month, the USPS issued a press release saying it was ready to deliver exceptional service during the 2024 holiday rush thanks to progress made under the Delivering for America plan and listing some key accomplishments.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in the press release, “The Postal Service’s historic transformation — made possible by our Delivering for America plan — has allowed us to realize more package processing capacity than ever before. Our operational, transportation and delivery processes have never been more finely tuned, and I am fully confident in our ability to once again handle the peak holiday season surge. We are strongly positioned to deliver exceptional, affordable service to the American people during the holidays and beyond.”
The Postal Service will announce its financial performance for fiscal year 2024, ending September 30, 2024, next week.
The new TV commercial airing this week is part of a campaign that also includes mailpieces and print ads. USPS described the commercial shared on YouTube as follows:
“From the moment a package is dropped off to its final delivery, the United States Postal Service is there every step of the way. With over 600,000 employees working in perfect sync, we ensure each package completes its holiday ride with care and joy. If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable shipping option, USPS Ground Advantage® offers a complete ground shipping solution for all your holiday needs. Visit usps.com/holidays.”
USPS is wasting millions of dollars on TV ads and print ads yet they can’t keep the local post office open past noon. They have trouble finding someone to fill the position as its only part time. Sometimes a clerk from a nearby town has come to the post office to sort the mail on her lunch hour and then goes back to her own post office. Anyone who has a postal box can get their mail as the outside lobby is open 24 hours but not conduct any other business as the service window is closed.
I do not use USPS due to commercials, but because it has convenient locations, including a local post office just 2 1/2 small city blocks away. I only use UPS on the rare occasion for large items as their nearest office means a 30 miles trip. UPS’s local office is only open a couple hours a day so that means dropping packages off at Staples. FedEx also means a 30 mile trip and have higher rates.
Back in the day the FCC requires local television stations to five free public service announcements. This should be reinstated and should take the form of free public service announcements for USPS. Unlike UPS and FedEx the Post Office was established under the Constitution. Alternatively stations could run any announcement they want but could be given double credit for running free USPS ads. For example; for every minute of free USPS ads they run they get credit for 2 minutes, thus freeing up more time for paid ads.
USPS is losing millions on the misused of postal supplies. In two videos posted on YouTube a eBay seller was seen using 61 Express Mail padded envelopes as internal packaging inside just 8 packages. That is over $1900 in postal revenue theft. This person has been selling on eBay since 2000 and operates two other businesses so we are really talking about many tens of thousands of dollars in stolen revenue. USPS needs to start charging for free postal supplies!