USPS, 'Star Wars' team up in mailbox promotion

On a street corner not so far, far away - 10th and P streets, to be exact - R2-D2 sits, ready to deliver your mail.

The mailbox wrapped to look like the popular robotic "Star Wars" sidekick is one of 400 such mailboxes in nearly 200 cities nationwide.

The R2-D2 mailbox is helping the U.S. Postal Service and the makers of "Star Wars" combine forces to embark on a new promotional adventure.

"This year is the 30th anniversary of when the first 'Star Wars' film came out," said Christy Funcke, a customer relations coordinator for the USPS.

Lincoln is one of the lucky cities to be graced with R2-D2's presence, as is Omaha, where another likeness is located at 50th and Dodge streets.

Each mailbox displays a Web site you can visit to enter your e-mail address to be one of the first people to find out about a big announcement on Wednesday involving the USPS and "Star Wars." The Web site is www.uspsjedimaster.com.

"All we have heard is that there is going to be a 'Star Wars' stamp," Funcke said.

The rest of the information would have to wait to be revealed until Wednesday, she said.

The mailboxes will be up for only three weeks, Funcke said, so those who hope to see Lincoln's R2-D2 must act quickly. It was put up March 16.

Brad Cain, a junior marketing major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and "Star Wars" fan, found photos of the mailboxes online when he heard rumors of the mailboxes' distribution.

"I was completely unaware that Lincoln was going to get one," he said.

He was very excited when, driving down 10th Street, he noticed the R2-D2 clone sitting on the corner.

"We have received a lot of good feedback on the mailboxes," Funcke said.

R2-D2 was the perfect character for the job, Funcke said, because the mailbox shape almost flawlessly resembles the loveable character.