US POSTAL SERVICE LICKS THE FUTURE WITH SIMPSONS STAMPS

Washington, DC – The United States Postal Service today announced a new line of stamps featuring characters from the long running television show ‘The Simpsons’. The new stamps will feature the likenesses of the five main cast members of the show; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Currently the stamps are available for pre-order and will be made available to the public on May 7, approximately 15 years to the day the television show lost its relevancy.

The show, which began life as a series of small sketches, has been a staple of American broadcasting since its debut in 1989. Spawning dozens of catchphrases, imitators, a full length motion picture, and mountains of merchandise the series has maintained its hold on the American psyche through incessant repetition and syndication. Now the longest running animated show in history, ‘The Simpsons’ has further cemented its place in American culture with its appearance in the equally less relevant medium of stamps.

“Many people forget how powerful and ubiquitous ‘The Simpsons’ was but there was a time when it was the pre-eminent cultural icon in The United States and around the world. Kids wore the t shirts and carried the lunchboxes and even adults quoted the show and talked about the latest episode. That hasn’t happened for awhile but the show has managed to trudge on regardless,” said Scrape TV Media analyst Sarah Piper. “Shows like ‘South Park’ and ‘Family Guy’ have come along and fundamentally changed the landscape for animated shows. The mindshare and relevancy that ‘The Simpsons’ had diminished long ago but the show has managed to soldier on and stay on the air which is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all the people involved. Now of course they are reaping those rewards.”

Though rarely explicitly stated, many in the television industry look to the stamp industry with great awe and hope that they themselves will one day be immortalized in stamp form. Though the rise of other forms of written communication – email, instant messaging, and most recently Twitter – has reduced the once dominate mail service many still look at stamps as a source of pride, especially because of its appeal to collectors.

“If ‘The Simpsons’ needs anything, it needs more merchandise. Young people have really been deprived of the opportunities that were afforded their elders in the Simpsons collecting realm and this provides them with a fresh and unique opportunity. It may also allow the show to open itself up to a
whole new field of viewers as stamp collectors crawl from their 19th century dwellings and set out to buy televisions,” continued Piper. “Really it’s win-win all around. On the surface you could look at the decline in popularity of the show and the decline in popularity in sending mail as almost working in lockstep over the last fifteen or so years, but the synergy that these two could create together could create a whole new level of attention and perhaps not only bring ‘The Simpsons’ back, but prompt people to go out and actually write letters again.”

Emails, instant messages, and Tweets do not require stamps and are free as long as one has a functional internet connection. Stamps were originally designed as a tax in order to pay for the distribution of mail but quickly became entities unto themselves, prompting heretofore untold revenues and power for post Offices across the country.

“The decline of the postal service has been traumatic for many people. The internet craze is just the latest assault on the USPS. Long before people started using instant communication services like Federal Express and UPS were taking over territory they once dominated. These collector stamps are the first best effort by the service to fight back and gain back some of that audience,” continued Piper. “Without bold moves like this the postal industry would be doomed to failure so it’s is heartening that they are keeping up the fight. Not only for the employees but so that generations of TV stars can keep their hopes for the future alive.”

The USPS is also mulling a series of stamps depicting characters from other classic television shows such as ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ and ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’. Scrape TV News sent a letter to the USPS for comment and we expect a response in 6- 8 weeks. 

Mike Michaels, American Correspondent

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