Advertise on a stamp?

Last May, the US Postal Service began allowing custom stamps with noncommercial photos and images. This week they have decided to allow companies to put logos and other commercial images on them as well.

"Every single day, we get orders that we have to reject because of this restriction," said Robert Beaver, chief executive of Zazzle, which prints custom stamps. "Lots of people are really interested in getting their message out on mail."

Only the Postal Service can issue stamps, but they allow other companies to sell what are basically postage labels, with the uploaded image in the center. So, technically they aren't stamps but they are valid postage.

The Boston Globe talked to some Boston area marketing folks about stamps as an advertising vehicle and they weren't too convinced.

Mass mailings are already so emblazoned with marketing messages that adding another in the form of postage could amount to overload, said Larry Weber, chief executive of W2 Group in Waltham. ''It's like putting another logo on a NASCAR" racer, Weber said.

At ad agency Mullen in Wenham, senior vice president Andrew Pelosi said customized postage might not make sense for mass mailers. Companies sending mass-mailings generally use postage meters because the process of attaching stamps adds cost.

Still, Pelosi said, advertising on postage ''could make sense for a small company doing a niche mailing."

Also related see: Ads on Snail Mail