Are bumper stickers a bad idea?

[DollarBill]

Recently I was thinking about buying a sticker for my car.
Like:
"Retired Air Force"
"Debt is normal; be weird"
"I'm retired; go around me"
"Don't laugh; it's paid for"

Is this a bad idea?? I just wonder how much bad attention one would receive. Thoughts?

[2ndTimer]

The Hub has one that says:  "My spirit animal is the gummi bear."  No one has ever paid any attention to it.

[sheepstache]

Unfortunately I am too mustachian to have a car but I do have a bumper sticker that I keep in reserve should the opportunity present itself. (Met the author at a comic con and felt I should buy something since I'm a fan and he gave me a sketch.)

[lizzie]

Well, it depends. Is this for a getaway car? Because then I'd say yes, bad idea.

[Annamal]

Well, it depends. Is this for a getaway car? Because then I'd say yes, bad idea.

Or maybe very good idea if they are magnetic, look stuck on and can be removed....

[2Birds1Stone]

I have a "Watch for Motorcycles" one on the left, and a NYS F&AM one on the right.

[GuitarStv]

I've always figured that at best they're a waste of materials.  At worst you could find your vehicle targeted for damage because of what a bumper sticker says.  No real winning.

[DollarBill]

I feel similar to you guys. This is why I come here. I know who I am when I'm by myself, but it's like when I'm around other people; I lose myself; I get lost and confused....It makes me seem like a boring person.

[Middlesbrough]

Don't be the guy with 40 bumper stickers on their car. No one cares.

[randymarsh]

I try to keep my car as generic as possible to keep both law enforcement and civilian assholes as uninterested/non-threatened as possible.

[dividendman]

I like reading the funny ones!

[Cpa Cat]

Mine says:

Got Milkweed?



So far no one has vandalized my car or angrily confronted me about my support for Monarch butterflies.

It's actually on my rear window, not my bumper. It helps me spot my generic-looking car in crowded parking lots.

[libertarian4321]

I've got a bunch of 'em on my truck, mostly political (but also some for various charities I support), and generally for low budget insurgent candidates for whom bumper stickers can be a cheap means of exposure. 

I'm not worried if someone takes exception, because 1) my Silverado is older than most of the candidates- so go ahead, scratch it, dent it, see if I care.  Hell, go ahead and steal it, it will give me justification for buying a new truck :), and 2) if I'm in the truck and someone takes exception, I'm perfectly willing to show them that my "I support the 2nd amendment" bumper stickers are more than just a slogan (I have a little friend tucked next to the seat- for those who watch the Colbert Report, my friend is very similar to his friend "Sweetness").

I still have some "Ron Paul 2008" and "Ron Paul 2012" bumper stickers on it.  I'd take them off, but I'm worried that they are the only thing holding the truck together!

[Janie]

I have a magnetic oval related to a sport I play. It makes it a little easier to find my very anonymous looking car in a crowded lot.

[MandalayVA]

As my car is pretty generic I have a Pittsburgh Penguins sticker and this one, which has gotten me compliments:

[GuitarStv]

I still have some "Ron Paul 2008" and "Ron Paul 2012" bumper stickers on it.  I'd take them off, but I'm worried that they are the only thing holding the truck together!

So you're the guy who kept voting for him . . .



:P

[RootofGood]

I have a Phi Beta Kappa sticker in my rear window.  I put it on 15 years ago when I was in college and I had just purchased my car.  Right now it's burnt to a crisp and mostly a mile of ashes laying on top of the audio speaker below the windshield.  I'll have to clean that up at some point...

[LibrarIan]

I have what I thought was a very innocent sticker on my bumper. It simply says, "I <3 my library." However, shortly after putting it on the political atmosphere in northern Kentucky regarding libraries and their taxing methods took a turn for the worse and I have since been honked at, flipped off and had various negative comments sent my way. Long story short, the Tea Party is suing our libraries.

[greatrussian]

Kind of an old article - but it stuck with me:
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080613/full/news.2008.889.html

Gist is that bumper stickers and other personalization transform your car from property to personal space. And we get a lot angrier about invasions of our personal space. Stick with a nice clean car you don't care about.

[MandalayVA]

I never call attention to my car with such things.

However, my favorites:

My Other Car Is A Broom

Horn Broken, Watch For Finger

"In Case of Rapture, Can I Have Your Car?"

"My Child Was Inmate Of The Month At Chesterfield County Jail"

[CheapskateWife]

I replaced the dodge ram on the front of my Grand Caravan with a shiny peace sign....sure gets funny looks coming through the gate of the Army base where I work.  :D

[GetItRight]

Various Libertarian bumper stickers. I've met some very nice and really interesting people and had great conversations in random places or on trips, and it's always nice to see others with similar stickers and wave to good people.

[Kris]

My favorite of all time:

"If you're going to ride my ass, at least pull my hair"

[AlexK]

I am pro gun but I would never have any such stickers on my car or house. If something terrible happened and I was forced to shoot someone in self defense the prosecuting attorney would surely make a poster sized photo of it to prove to the jury I'm a gun toting lunatic looking to kill.

Also they just make cars look bad.

[Paul der Krake]

I am pro gun but I would never have any such stickers on my car or house. If something terrible happened and I was forced to shoot someone in self defense the prosecuting attorney would surely make a poster sized photo of it to prove to the jury I'm a gun toting lunatic looking to kill.

Also they just make cars look bad.

Agreed. I would steer away from anything controversial or political. Being in cars already makes people angry, there's no reason to aggravate the lunatics out there.

Also, what the !@#$ is up with this trend of telling the world that your kid is an honor student?

[Roots&Wings]

Also, what the !@#$ is up with this trend of telling the world that your kid is an honor student?

Yes, the honor kid advertising is particularly puzzling. Or how about the vacation inspired ones? People honestly like to advertise their vacation/second home spots?

Some other favorites I've seen on the road (none personally):

"You Shall Not Pass" w/ Gandalf pic, while passing

"What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?"

[daverobev]

There's one on a car nearby that actually makes me want to do damage to it (not that I would):

"If you don't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them"

Seriously? Fuck off. Really.

[caliq]

Also, what the !@#$ is up with this trend of telling the world that your kid is an honor student?

Yes, the honor kid advertising is particularly puzzling.

My school used to give out the Honor Roll bumper stickers for free by handing them to the students in class or at year end awards ceremonies (with the little wall plaque we also got for honors).  I think it was an attempt at peer pressuring the kids into wanting to succeed academically. 

"Mo-oooooom, Bob's parents' put his bumper sticker on their car, why don't you want to show everyone how smart and awesome I am!?!?"

[bortman]

None on my car, but my all-time favorite is:

"Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an a**hole."

(not directed at OP or anyone in the thread, just think it's funny)

[Silverado]

I think they are a bad idea, though some are very funny. Political or general view one seem to have some risk. If I had a pro-whatever sticker on the back, and am broke down or off in the ditch in bad weather, doesn't it decrease the chance of getting help from someone with an anti-same sticker on theirs? I am an ok guy, but can't say I'd be as helpful in a routine situation if it was clear the other party was a dingbat. Real issue like wreck or sub zero temps sure.

Like most things in life, my desire is to move among the masses minimizing my footprint. Stand out at home, stand out at work, be invisible everywhere else. Internet forums obviously falling outside of that.

I love the Bob and Tom skit of James Earl Jones Reads Bumper Stickers.

[libertarian4321]

I still have some "Ron Paul 2008" and "Ron Paul 2012" bumper stickers on it.  I'd take them off, but I'm worried that they are the only thing holding the truck together!

So you're the guy who kept voting for him . . .



:P

After years in the Libertarian Party, I went back to the Republican Party in 2008 just to vote for Ron Paul.  I also became a Republican delegate to support him, despite my distaste for much of the GOP at that point.

In 2012, I supported him in the primaries, but realized the Republican Party was dead set on selecting another LOSER (Romney), so I went back to the Libertarian Party to run for Congress in late '12, which meant I could not vote for Ron Paul at the TX primary.

[libertarian4321]

Regarding the effectiveness of bumper stickers.  The idea is NOT to get everyone who sees the sticker to "join" the candidate or cause.

Most people who see it will completely ignore it- they are typical Americans with their heads firmly up their asses, and blissfully ignorant about just about everything that does not directly affect their job or their kids soccer games.

Some will go "Hell yeah!" and blow their horn in support.  Others will get pissed off and maybe give you the finger. 

But a small subset of people might just be wakened from their typical American clueless "duh?" slumber and decide "hmm, maybe I'll look up Ron Paul (or whatever the topic of the bumper sticker is) and see why's he's different than the run of the mill Republican numb nuts GOP candidate who can't think for himself."

The idea isn't to attract everyone, it's to get a small number to notice, and realize that the cause is worth supporting.

No different than mailers, robo calls, TV ads, etc.  Bumper stickers are a very low cost way of getting the word out.

[tofuchampion]

I don't have any at the moment, but I'm not opposed to them. The best one I've ever seen just said, "OPINIONS."

[Roots&Wings]

Have to admit, I was tempted by this one:

"As you drive down the road to retirement, we don't think you'll offend anyone with this sensible bumper sticker!"

If Vanguard ever offers it as a free customer appreciation gift, I'd put it on my car.

[dividendman]

Time for MMM to come up with some bumper stickers?

[horsepoor]

None on my car, but my all-time favorite is:

"Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an a**hole."

(not directed at OP or anyone in the thread, just think it's funny)

I finally found Jesus, he was behind the couch this whole time.

Wouldn't MMM stickers need to be bicycle sized?  MMM merch seems totally antithetical, though.

I have a decal of a dressage rider on the back window of my truck that says "Heading to my Happy Place", on my horse trailer a similar one with a spotted horse that says "I got an App for that".  Car sports a decal of Eva from Wall-E, and a sticker from a half marathon I ran last fall.  I've thought about putting something horse-related on my car, but if I do, I'll probably lose the race sticker because a car can start looking cluttered pretty quickly with too much crap on it.

I also thought it would be funny to do one of those family stickers, except with a woman and like 9 cats.

[caliq]

None on my car, but my all-time favorite is:

"Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an a**hole."

(not directed at OP or anyone in the thread, just think it's funny)

I finally found Jesus, he was behind the couch this whole time.

Wouldn't MMM stickers need to be bicycle sized?  MMM merch seems totally antithetical, though.

I have a decal of a dressage rider on the back window of my truck that says "Heading to my Happy Place", on my horse trailer a similar one with a spotted horse that says "I got an App for that".  Car sports a decal of Eva from Wall-E, and a sticker from a half marathon I ran last fall.  I've thought about putting something horse-related on my car, but if I do, I'll probably lose the race sticker because a car can start looking cluttered pretty quickly with too much crap on it.

I also thought it would be funny to do one of those family stickers, except with a woman and like 9 cats.

LOL!

[DollarBill]

Police Warn Bumper Stickers Could Reveal Too Much Information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKQZAce_P4o

[MayDay]

I've been thinking about buying a family bumper sticker with a pregnant lady, husband, 19 kids and a dog, or something, and sticking it on my civic.

I have a pro-choice one on my car. I saw one that said something about tree-hugging and gas/environment that I liked. I figure one of the benefits of driving an old crappy car is bummer stickers won't make it look worse. I like being behind funny ones at red lights.

[Wupper]

I've seen many bumper stickers that I thought were funny, clever, and cool.

However, I'd never affix a bumper sticker to my vehicle.

[crocheted_stache]

I wouldn't put a bumper sticker on my car, but I have several (mostly freebies) covering over the plastic handle of an old broom which was starting to splinter. For ones I might want to show off, there's always file cabinets, laptops, suitcases, tool boxes, and so on.

One of my favorite bumper stickers at the moment wouldn't make much sense other than on the back of a car:
Sorry for driving SO CLOSE in front of you!