Mr. Zip, America's First Digital Icon

04/15/15 | various

[keat]

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

[keat]

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.

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.

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 hair was straight, but his skin was somewhat orange, making him non racially-identifiable. His limbs were very thin, almost like those of a stick figure. He was particularly used on posters promoting ZIP Code use. The character was largely phased out by the late 1970s, but the Post Office retained rights to the copyrighted figure.

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, 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 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". Mr. ZIP appeared in the blank selvage of United States stamps until January 1986 when, with the introduction of the nine-digit ZIP Code, or ZIP+4, he retired with a generous health care program.

[Yo-Yo]

until January 1986 when, with the introduction of the nine-digit ZIP Code, or ZIP+4, he retired with a generous health care program.

Heh.

[dfwgator]

[PhiloBedo]

until January 1986 when, with the introduction of the nine-digit ZIP Code, or ZIP+4, he retired with a generous health care program.

Since that time Mr. Zip has spent his retirement building and learning to fly gyrocopters.

[Dilbert San Diego]

ZIP is an acronym, which stands for Zoning Improvement Plan.

And the ad campaigns used the word zip to denote speed, to mean that the mail would zip along and get there faster, if you used the zip code.

[clintonh8r]

Did he ever come out?

[SamAdams76]

It was the Age of zi s ee geting into it - nois en jous.

Took lessons from James Brown.

[PAR35]

If by ‘digital’ you mean the digits of the zip code, I suppose so. But the drawings were certainly analog, not digital.

I always saw Zippy as being derivative of Reddy Kilowatt.

[Oratam]

I miss the simpler America of my youth . . . and I’m not quite 50.

[ifinnegan]

Yes.

And what about Reddy Kilowatt.

I learned how to make excellent kites from Reddy Kilowatt.

[Argus]

Mr. Zip is clearly racist.

[MV=PY]

As a child of the 60's, this is the Zippy I remember.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Wow! A trip in the way-back machine to my youth! Thanks!

[Rockpile]

I’ve also seen Zone Improvement Program. Plan seems more likely.

[Nowhere Man]

I miss the simpler America of my youth . . . and I’m not quite 50.

Me too, I'll be 49 this year.