Editing Mr. ZIP

{{Short description|Mascot of the United States Post Office Department}}
[[File:Mr.Zip-2003.PNG|thumb|Mr. ZIP.]]
'''Mr. ZIP''', informally "Zippy", is a cartoon character used in the 1960s by the [[United States Post Office Department]], and later by its successor, the [[United States Postal Service]], to encourage the general public to include the [[ZIP Code]] in all mailings.

==Origins==
[[File:UseZipCode.JPG|thumb|Mr. ZIP on a 1963 sign.]]
The USPS has described the origin of Mr. ZIP as follows:<ref name="digitalicon">{{Cite web |date=July 2008 |title=Mr. ZIP |url=https://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/MrZIP.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508223728/https://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/MrZIP.pdf |archive-date=May 8, 2009 |website=United States Postal Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gill|first=Alex|date=October 2016|title=Zone Improvement Plan: The Story of Mr. Zip|url=https://americanphilateliccongress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PHJ165.pdf#page=9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017053740/https://americanphilateliccongress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PHJ165.pdf#page=9|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 17, 2021|journal=Postal History Journal|publisher=Postal History Society|issue=165|pages={{usurped|1=[https://americanphilateliccongress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PHJ165.pdf#page=9 7]}}-11|issn=0032-5341|quote=Despite the success and popularity of Mr. Zip with the younger generation, the enthusiasm was not shared by all. Several groups had a negative view of the new campaign and resented the implementation of ZIP codes by Mr. Zip as a burden in their daily lives.}}</ref>
<blockquote>Mr. ZIP was based on an original design by Howard Wilcox, son of a letter carrier and a member of the Cunningham and Walsh advertising agency, for use by a New York bank in a bank-by-mail campaign. Wilcox's design was a child-like sketch of a postman delivering a letter. The figure was used only a few times, then filed away. Later, AT&T acquired the design and made it available to the Post Office Department at no cost. ... Miami-based Post Office Department artist Joe Lawrence retained the face but sharpened the limbs and torso and added a mail bag. The new figure, who Lawrence had dubbed Mr. ZIP, was unveiled at a convention of postmasters in October 1962.</blockquote>

The character's original name had been '''Mr. P.O. Zone''', but was changed to Mr. ZIP along with the new term "ZIP code."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arago.si.edu/category_2036101.html|title=Mr. ZIP|last=Pope|first=Nancy|date=2006-05-01|website=Smithsonian National Postal Museum|access-date=2018-06-13}}</ref>

==Post Office use==
[[File:SamHoustonMrZIP.jpg|thumb|upright|Mr. ZIP in 1964.]]
The Post Office had little difficulty in getting mass mailers to use the ZIP Code as it could make its inclusion a condition for receiving preferential mailing rates and soon did. However, there was some resistance by the general public, members of whom would mail items without ZIP Code, almost invariably at the full rate for First Class Mail, which by regulation had to be delivered if at all possible and feasible. This was particularly true of older mailers. Mr. ZIP was the Post Office's answer to this, apparently intended to teach small children to always use the ZIP Code as they got older and also to encourage their parents and grandparents to do so.

Mr. ZIP is a caricature of a [[mail carrier]], wide-eyed and drawn with his letter bag trailing him in such a way as to imply his travelling at extreme speed, and sometimes holding on to his hat with his free hand. His limbs were very thin, almost like those of a [[stick figure]]. He was particularly used on posters promoting ZIP Code use.

Mr. ZIP appeared on the [[selvage]] (non-postally valid areas) of stamp panes (more commonly called "sheets") for many stamp issues, beginning with the 5 cent [[Sam Houston]] stamp issued January 10, 1964,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://info.mysticstamp.com/this-day-in-history-january-10-1964-2/ |title=First Stamp with Mr. Zip in the Selvage |website=Mystic Stamp Company |date=January 10, 2022 |quote=On January 10, 1964, Mr. Zip first appeared in the selvage of a stamp sheet honoring Texas icon Sam Houston.}}</ref> although the 5¢ [[Battle of the Wilderness]] stamp of May 5, 1964, is sometimes listed as the "first" because it appears earlier in most stamp catalogs due to its inclusion in a five-issue [[American Civil War|Civil War]] series. He also appeared on non-postally-valid labels inside, or on the cover of, stamp booklets. Stamp collectors sometimes collect the corner block of four stamps with the part of the selvage bearing Mr. ZIP; these are called "ZIP blocks". As the Post Office promoted the use of ZIP codes, Mr. ZIP was also displayed in post offices as a 4.5-foot tall plywood figure.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kowalczyk |first1=Kowalczyk |last2=Burmeister |first2=Burmeister |date=July 2007 |title=Object spotlight: Mr. ZIP |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/collections/object-spotlight/mr-zip |access-date=2018-06-13 |website=Smithsonian National Postal Museum}}</ref>

[[File:10centWorldPeaceLawMrZIPstampUS.jpg|thumb|left|Mr. ZIP attached to a 1975 stamp.]]
Mr. ZIP was featured prominently alongside the band the Swingin' Six in a televised Post Office-sponsored variety show. The songs included lyrics such as, "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."<ref name="scpr">{{Cite news|url=https://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2013/07/01/32505/the-us-postal-services-zip-code-system-turns-50/|title=The US Postal Service's zip code system turns 50|last=Proffitt|first=Steve|date=2013-07-01|work=Southern California Public Radio|access-date=2018-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://postalmuseum.si.edu/zipcodecampaign/video/swingin_six_zip_code_video.pdf|title=Swingin' Six ZIP Code Promotional Film [transcript]|last=|first=|date=|website=Smithsonian National Postal Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221073312/http://postalmuseum.si.edu/zipcodecampaign/video/swingin_six_zip_code_video.pdf|archive-date=2015-12-21|access-date=}}</ref>

A corresponding character named Mrs. ZIP was used in local parades and a Mrs. ZIP beauty pageant.<ref name="scpr"/> The [[National Postal Museum]] does not have documentation about her origins.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mailomg.com/2018/05/22/smithsonian-discovers-mr-zip-was-married/|title=Smithsonian Discovers Mr. ZIP Was Married|date=2018-05-22|work=Official Mail Guide (OMG)|access-date=2018-06-13|language=en-US}}</ref>

The character was largely phased out by the late 1970s, but the Postal Service retained rights to the [[copyright]]ed figure. Mr. ZIP appeared in the blank selvage of United States stamps until January 1986.<ref name="digitalicon"/> The Postal Service re-introduced Mr. ZIP to stamps in 2013, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ZIP Code system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog-stampofapproval.com/2013/02/26/5-digits-50-years-the-triumphant-return-of-mr-zip/|title=5 Digits, 50 Years: The Triumphant Return of Mr. ZIP|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130710025156/http://blog-stampofapproval.com/2013/02/26/5-digits-50-years-the-triumphant-return-of-mr-zip/|archive-date=2013-07-10|access-date=2020-01-08|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2024, an animated Mr. ZIP made a guest appearance in a holiday special on the children's show ''[[Blippi]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.usps.com/2024/12/04/mr-zip-appears-in-a-new-holiday-special/|title=Mr. ZIP appears in a new holiday special|website=USPS Employee News|publisher=USPS|date=December 4, 2024|access-date=May 1, 2025}}</ref> ahead of the February 2025 launch of "Mail with Mr. ZIP", a YouTube series produced by ''Blippi'' owner [[Moonbug Entertainment]] aimed at teaching young children about the Postal Service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.usps.com/2025/02/10/mr-zip-has-a-new-series-on-youtube/|title=Mr. ZIP has a new series on YouTube|website=USPS Employee News|publisher=USPS|date=February 10, 2025|access-date=May 1, 2025}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIChoMEQ4Cs "Swingin' Six" ZIP Code variety show video]: Public Service Announcement Video produced by the Post Office Department, mid-1960s. Released online by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

{{ZIP Code}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mr. Zip}}
[[Category:United States Postal Service]]
[[Category:Fictional United States Postal Service workers|ZIP, Mr.]]
[[Category:ZIP code]]
[[Category:Mascots introduced in 1962]]
[[Category:Male characters in advertising]]
[[Category:Postal history of the United States]]