Federal Express Corporation: When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight campaign (1978-1983)

An advertising campaign that used exaggerated humor to spoof office life helped Federal Express Corporation demonstrate that it understood the needs of its customers and could be trusted to deliver small packages quickly.

Federal Express Corporation: When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight campaign

Susan Risland

Overview

An advertising campaign that used exaggerated humor to spoof office life helped Federal Express Corporation demonstrate that it understood the needs of its customers and could be trusted to deliver small packages quickly. The "When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There Overnight" campaign, which ran from 1978 to 1983, showed the danger of sending important packages by delivery services that might be less dependable than Federal Express. In one spot the owner of a lightbulb store anxiously telephoned a company named Dingbat Air...

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