Your next Amazon box might double as a billboard. The company has started sending boxes featuring advertisements for the new Minions movie — the first non-Amazon ads to appear on the company’s delivery boxes.
The yellow boxes with yellow characters from the Despicable Me franchise started arriving on doorsteps as early as Wednesday last week. There are at least three different ads, each tied to a different box size and starring a single Minions character. The box also has the July 10 release date and a special link to a Minions page on Amazon.
Amazon has previously advertised its Prime services, including streaming music and video, on packaging tape. The company also sells advertising on its Amazon Lockers delivery locations. This is the first ad from an outside company on Amazon boxes. But this isn’t the first time Minions have popped up on products; the $1.5 billion-grossing movie franchise has had its little yellow creatures on Mott’s applesauce, Monopoly boards and, of course, a huge number of toys.
This new revenue stream could be lucrative for Amazon, whose boxes can be seen on doorsteps (and in recycling bins) across the country. However, the ads aren’t likely to draw the same attention as this Minions run if they become commonplace.
