ArtClass' Oren Kaplan Directs The UPS Store's Blu Campaign

The UPS Store is putting a face on 12 years of real-customer advertising. It created Blu, its first-ever character, as the central figure in a multi-year national campaign from Doner Advertising. Blu is a woman in a blue polo who appears on demand to hand small business owners advice and services.

"Blu captures something our customers feel every time they walk into a store," Michelle Van Slyke, SVP of marketing and sales at The UPS Store, told DesignRush.

"The UPS Store isn't just a service provider, but a genuine partner invested in their success. As our first-ever brand character, Blu embodies the small business resources, one-stop convenience and award-winning customer experience available at every location."

The campaign also pairs Blu with NFL player and new small business owner Aidan Hutchinson. Both feature in film spots created by Paramount Media Labs for CBS and Paramount streaming. The new brand asset gives the company a repeatable way to dramatize a service promise that can otherwise be difficult to make memorable. Blu gives The UPS Store a fictional helper who can solve practical business problems on demand.

The character can appear through a portal, break reality and time, and connect small business owners to services. These services include shipping, printing, mailbox support, and document shredding. The creative idea came from franchisee and customer research, followed by testing from Doner Advertising. This approach keeps Blu tied to experiences customers and franchise owners already associate with the company's service.

"Small business owners carry a lot on their own, and Blu is a reminder that they don't have to," Van Slyke added. "I'm incredibly proud of the creative work our agency partners put into bringing that relationship to life."

Parent company UPS eliminated 48,000 positions in 2025 and plans up to 30,000 more in 2026 after agreeing to halve the Amazon deliveries it handles.

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