U-Haul Airs First TV Ad in 34 Years to Showcase U-Box Container

PHOENIX (July 24, 2017) — When your name is synonymous with moving, and your trucks and trailers serve and are viewed by millions of people each year, there isn’t a pressing need for the exposure of TV commercials.

In fact, U-Haul® hasn’t aired a TV commercial since 1983. That makes its decision to promote U-Box® portable moving and storage containers with a new 30-second spot an intriguing and anticipated return to the small screen.

View the U-Box commercial

The U-Haul ad highlighting U-Box begins running today across networks in the Phoenix, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City markets. The ad is slated to run for the next two weeks, and air again during a two-week stretch starting Aug. 14.

“It’s about creating awareness,” said Sam J. Shoen, U-Box program manager. “U-Haul is known for our trucks, trailers and towing devices, along with our self-storage facilities and moving supplies. Because those products are so closely associated with U-Haul, not everyone knows about the convenience U-Box can provide for the DIY moving public.

“U-Box combines the benefits of portable containers with the vast infrastructure and expertise that we’ve gained over 72 years of business. We can arrange for customers’ belongings to be shipped anywhere, even overseas.”

The commercial speaks to the product’s convenience and closes with the slogan, “U-Box by U-Haul: Move at Your Pace.” The ad depicts families preparing for their moves with differing levels of urgency as U-Box containers are stationed in their driveways. “At U-Haul, we know every family moves at their own pace,” the ad states. “That’s why we have U-Box, where you can pack in a day, in a week, in a month. We can store it or ship it – how and when you want it.”

The ad indirectly references Moving Help, a U-Haul-powered online marketplace for reliable local moving labor services, when it asks, “Don’t want to lift a finger? We’ve got you covered there, too.”

Manley Films & Media, an acclaimed Phoenix-based marketing firm, produced the commercial.

U-Haul co-founder L.S. Shoen was featured 34 years ago in the last U-Haul commercial. It was a 30-second spot with a simple message: “U-Haul will not be undersold, and we guarantee it!” L.S. appeared with a self-moving family and Sandy, the lead dog from the 1982 movie Annie.

Joe Shoen, son of L.S. and father of Sam, has directed U-Haul operations since 1987.

“There’s a misconception that U-Haul doesn’t advertise,” Sam J. Shoen stated. “The reality is we prefer to invest our customers’ dollars into a better product and service, and by doing so, our equipment on the roads sells itself in communities across North America. That’s why our fleet imaging is so much more extensive than the competition.”

U-Box containers boast 257 cubic feet of space and one-ton capacity. For additional details on U-Box dimensions, delivery options, storage solutions, and domestic and international quotes, please visit uhaul.com.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers’ patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Jeff Lockridge 
Sebastien Reyes 
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941 
Website: uhaul.com