Treasures of Tutankhamun

The carrier envelope (shown below) is embossed with gold foil (made of aluminum), using a design from Tutankhamun's tomb. It heralded a 55-month continuity program of local postage stamps coated with 22k gold and embossed with designs of 55 objects found in Tut's tomb that were touring museums around the world. The program achieved the record-setting average completion rate of 51.1% of all subscribers.
     "To get a fix on average completion," wrote Denny Hatch, editor and publisher of WHO'S MAILING WHAT! newsletter, "we called Grolier Enterprises...and asked what percentage of starters---on average---complete any given series. The reply was, 'According to the informal office consensus, 16%.' Consultants Paul Goldberg and Andrew Svenson agreed, estimating from 16% to 25%...Gordon Grossman said 16% was probably right for Grolier...'But 51% is very, very impressive.'
     Package design by Harry Redler, photography by Lee Boltin, with copy by Mal Decker, who also wrote all 55 personalized letters to subscribers, one of which accompanied each monthly shipment. Those unique letters were key to the completion rate.
     The Tutankhamun program, conceived entirely by Mal Decker, was marketed worldwide, in several languages, and produced more than $10 million in sales. Download PDFs