The United Parcel Service knows a great PR stunt when it sees one, especially when furry, oh-so-cute animals are part of the package.
The United Parcel Service knows a great PR stunt when it sees one,
especially when furry, oh-so-cute animals are part of the package.
Earlier this month, the world’s largest package carrier was tapped to
transport two giant pandas from Beijing to Atlanta. Predictably, a great
deal of fanfare - though, thankfully, few screaming ’Panda-monium!’
headlines - ensued.
The pandas made the trip on the ’Panda Express,’ a Boeing 767 adorned
with black-and-white panda logos. Alas, UPS chose not to paint over its
customary brown plane tail, thus completely ruining the elegant color
scheme.
A UPS spokesperson said that the pandas were treated to the equivalent
of ’first-class airline service’ on their journey, with bread, water,
apples and bamboo there for the taking. And not that UPS has the US
Postal Service’s knack for, uh, ’misplacing’ packages, but plans were
made for possible delivery snafus. Bar codes on the panda crates allowed
them to be tracked like any other UPS package. So much for the human
touch.
Whether the three veterinarians who accompanied the pandas on their
17-hour journey were treated quite as well, nobody seems to know.
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