1968 Cadillac Eldorado Nixon - Flickr - That Hartford Guy

A bumper sticker is an adhesive

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

or sticker designed to be attached to the rear of a car or truck, often on the bumper. They are commonly sized at around and are typically made of PVC. Bumper stickers serve various purposes, including personal expression, promotion, humor, or

political activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. They encompass commercial, religious, secular, military, and sports-related themes, allowing individuals to showcase affiliations or support for various causes, regions, or groups. While they are widely used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to display political support during elections, their prevalence is comparatively lower in countries like the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Before the emergence of bumper stickers, advertising took various forms, including horsefly nets, metal or cardboard bumper signs, and window shield

decal A decal (, , ) or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper, or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water. The word is short for '' decalc ...

s. The advancement of fluorescent inks during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the accessibility of pressure-sensitive and adhesive materials in the post-war period played a significant role in the development and widespread adoption of bumper stickers.

Purpose

Bumper stickers can be commercial, religious, secular, humorous, or in support of a sports team or other organization. They may promote or oppose a particular philosophical or political position. Or they may go a different route and show a funny cartoon or punchline. In some countries, such as the United States, bumper stickers are a popular way of showing support for a candidate for a government seat and become more common during election years. In others, such as the United Kingdom, they are rarely seen in any form. One variety of bumper stickers is the country tag. This is typically used for cars crossing international borders, and is overseen by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as the ''Distinguishing Signs of Vehicles in International Traffic'', being authorized by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) and

Vienna Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the co ...

(1968). Often the country code is displayed on the license plate itself. These have (usually in the United States) been appropriated into tags indicating a country with which the driver affiliates, or more humorously to indicate things like a region ( OBX), support for rabbit rescue groups ( BUN), etc. People who opt to exhibit their individuality through these decals may take part in more acts of

road rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by people driving a vehicle. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists in an ...

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

William Szlemko found that aggressive driving is linked to the number of markers a person has on their car, regardless of the messages portrayed.

Application and removal

Early bumper stickers had printed directions on the back removable liner for applying them to the bumper of a car. Due to the movement of the vehicle and changing weather conditions, the sticker needed to adhere well to the bumper surface. There are some "easy to remove" bumper stickers and

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

bumper stickers. Bumper stickers can be removed with a

razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since be ...

blade, penetrating oil or a heat gun. Home remedies also include using common household items, such as

WD-40 WD-40 (Water Displacement, 40th formula) is an American manufacturer and the trademark of a penetrating oil manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. Its formula was invented for the Rocket Chemical Company in 1953, ...

paint thinner Paint thinners are diluents — solvents used to adjust the viscosity of paint, as well as similar preparations such as varnish and lacquer, by dilution. For water-based paints, such as acrylic paints, water is the primary solvent, but notably, ...

History

Before bumper stickers, advertisers used other methods of displaying their wares. In the horse-drawn carriage era, advertisers printed on horsefly nets with the name of a business. In the 1930s and 1940s, bumper signs were printed on metal or cardboard and wired to the chrome bumpers. Lester Dill, promoter of Meramec Caverns in Missouri, was an ardent adopter of the bumper sign to attract motorists to his site. Using a windowshield decal was another option. These paper strips could be wetted and placed inside a car window. However, these strips did not hold up well when placed on a bumper. Various factors contributed to the development of the bumper sticker. Developments in material manufacturing during World War II led to the widespread use of daylight fluorescent inks, which were invented by Bob Switzer and his brother Joe. These inks appeared to glow during the daytime and were useful to support various wartime activities; they were favored by early bumper sticker manufacturers after the war. In addition, the first commercially produced pressure-sensitive stickers appeared after World War II; new developments in adhesive materials led to the production of paper strips with adhesive on the back. In addition, increased use of

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

by the general public after World War II led to the eventual use of this material in bumper stickers. Many experts credit Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City, USA, as the developer of the bumper sticker. Gill recognized that the self-adhesive paper used during the second world war could be used to advertise promotional products in the late 1940s and beyond. Early widespread uses of the advertising bumper sticker were for tourist attractions, such as Marine Gardens, Florida, Seven Falls, Colorado, Meramec Caverns in Missouri, and

Lookout Mountain, Tennessee Lookout Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2020 census. Bordering its sister city of Lookout Mountain, Georgia to the south, Lookout Mountain is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA ...

. Another popular advertisement was the " See Rock City" sticker. In the 1940s and 1950s, visitors to the site had a sticker applied to their car, which duplicated the famous signs painted on the roofs of barns throughout the southeastern USA. Tourist attraction staff would circulate through the parking lot, applying the promotional sticker to every car. The first documented presidential election that used adhesive bumper stickers in

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...

s was the 1952 election between

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

and

Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...

. Bumper stickers allowed citizens to show support for a candidate while still maintaining some anonymity. Bumper stickers have caused legal issues between people and states. In 1989, a man with a bumper sticker containing indecent wording was convicted. The man's conviction was reversed in ''Cunningham v. State'' (1991). The court referenced the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, stating "the provision regulating profane words on bumper stickers reaches a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech and unconstitutionally restricts freedom of expression".

Around the world

Considerable variation exists around the world as to the context and purpose of stickers. For example, many Veterans and military family members use military and war related stickers on their cars. They have also been extensively applied to rear windows as well, where legislative measures have not banned such use. For instance, in Sweden, this is the normal place to put them; bumper stickers are referred to as "''bakrutedekal''" in Swedish, meaning "rear window decal". More recently, bumper stickers have become a route for advertising and a few companies offer to match car owners to advertisers willing to pay for the ad. " Shirat Hasticker" ("The Sticker Song") by Hadag Nachash is an Israeli song composed entirely of bumper sticker slogans. Variants of the bumper sticker have developed in recent years, including vinyl decals meant to be applied to a car's rear windshield, and chrome emblems to be affixed to the body of the car itself, generally on the rear (the " Jesus fish" and its " Darwin fish" counterpart are popular examples). License plate frames and vanity plates can serve a similar purpose to bumper stickers, although the law may place restrictions on messages they display.

Gallery

File:1976 campaign bumper sticker.JPG, Bumper sticker supporting the 1976

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. File:When fascism comes to America.jpg, Bumper sticker with a

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

quote on a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

File:CH international vehicle registration oval.jpg, Country tag for Switzerland. File:Car with Many Bumper Stickers.jpg, The rear of a

Nissan Versa Nissan Versa is an automobile nameplate used by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan in the Americas for the following models: File:2011 Nissan Versa 1.6 Sedan.jpg, First-generation Versa sedan (C11; 2006–2012) File:2008 Nissan Versa, Front Left, 06 ...

displaying many bumper stickers. File:Bumper-sticker-car.jpg, A

Chevrolet Nova Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

plastered all over with bumper stickers File:Quebec_Right-Wing_Bumper_Stickers.jpg , A

Ford Escape The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company since the 2001 model year. The first Ford SUV derived from a car platform, the Escape fell below the Ford Explorer#Second generation (UN105/150; 1995), F ...

with bumper stickers. File:Obama Biden 2008 bumper sticker (2810891603).jpg, Bumper sticker supporting the 2008 Obama- Biden

References