Thread: Political bumper sticker, R.I.P

Political bumper sticker, R.I.P


Michael Smolens Contact Reporter


Not long ago, it seemed you couldn’t drive down a street this time of year and not see a bunch of them.

Next time you’re on the road, count the number of political bumper stickers you see. It’s not like the old days.

In the always evolving world of campaign tactics, the bumper sticker maybe going the way of the whistle-stop tour.

The reason for the demise of bumper stickers are several, and not everyone agrees with all of them: notions of self-expression and identity have changed, along with how people view their cars.

But there is universal consensus that technological advancements — particularly the use of social media, which is still a relatively recent campaign phenomenon — are making bumper stickers increasingly rare.

I asked longtime San Diego political consultant Tom Shepard about the trend and he touched on various theories that he said were based more on intuition than data — which, he cautioned wryly, “may or may not be true.”

But he has no doubt about one very pragmatic reason:

They’re not a cost-effective means of getting your message out, especially given the expanded options available in the digital world where communications can be shaped and targeted for specific constituencies, even individuals.

Shepard said bumper stickers still can be useful under certain circumstances, such as when a campaign can reliably distribute them to people willing to put them on cars, rather than leave them in a desk drawer. But that usually doesn’t happen.

On a more speculative track, Shepard believes there’s been a change in how people see their cars as an identity statement. In the past, bumper stickers frequently proclaimed one’s allegiance, philosophy or favored candidate. Now there’s Facebook.

Also, while Americans have long prized their autos, there seems to be more care in not doing things that might distract from their cool cars.

Or, as Kim Kardashian once put it when asked if she had tattoos, “Honey, would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?”

When I mentioned that over the phone to Shepard there was a slight pause, with what I’m guessing was a smirk behind it.

“It’s easier to remove a bumper sticker than a tattoo,” he observed, then acknowledged her comment does actually make the point.

There’s been a lot of discussion on the death of the bumper sticker, but those suggesting the funeral should be delayed point to the ubiquitous ones for Barack Obama in 2008 and, perhaps to a lesser degree, Bernie Sanders this year.

The political alienation that is apparent throughout the nation also may have something to do with people’s reluctance to slap the name of a candidate on their vehicle, even if they intend to vote for them.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have hard-core constituencies, but the passion for Obama and Sanders was deeper and wider. And they were viewed more positively.

There’s another thing: Politics are pretty raw and divisive these days. Shepard said that if you put a Clinton or Trump sticker on your bumper, maybe half the people who see it are going to think you’re an idiot.

The bumper sticker wasn’t just a vehicle for a message but, to varying degrees, helped shape it. If what you want to say on the sticker doesn’t fit or simply doesn’t work, you have a message problem.

Larry Bird, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, agreed that social media has played a role in the decline of bumper stickers, according to a March article in The Atlantic.

“For Bird — a specialist in American political history and symbols — bumper stickers represent the last vestiges of the old ‘hurrah’ campaigns of the 1950s, which were characterized by parades, painted tractor trailers, and rallies where campaigners would distribute their wares. Today, campaigning is significantly more manicured for television, and has lost what Bird calls the ‘thingness’ that comes with receiving a button or bumper sticker from your favorite candidate.”

Regardless of how complex a ballot measure or how multifaceted a candidate is, no matter how much more campaigns are able to do and say, they all benefit from a simple, meaningful message. It doesn’t hurt if they’re snappy.

“It’s the economy, stupid.”

“Feel the Bern.”

“Bartlet for America.”

OK, the last one was for the fictitious TV president on “West Wing,” but it still worked.

My favorite bumper sticker breaks the length rule — it surprised me that the message actually fit on one. But it has such tremendous political, social and even cosmic significance the verbiage doesn’t get in the way.

“What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it’s all about?”

Postscript: Going yard

As he dissected the downfall of the bumper sticker, it became clear Shepard has a soft spot for another old-time messaging device: the yard sign.

They are “one of the last sincere forms of endorsements,” he said, adding that the same bumper sticker messaging litmus test applies to yard signs as well.

People willingly put them in their yards to make a statement. It’s unlikely they’re getting paid or would do it for what would be a small sum if they didn’t believe in the candidate or cause.

And there’s more identification with a home because people, neighbors anyway, tend to know at least a little about who lives there.

Having said that, there don’t seem to be as many of those around any more, either.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...924-story.html

Have you actually ever been influenced to vote for any candidate because you saw a bumper sticker on a car, a sign in someone's yard or a guy on a street corner holding a sign?

I think part of the problem is that you don't find bumpers any more. At one time the bumper was a huge chrome piece that really was a work of art and a necessary component of the character of the car. Not so much any more. I'm still seeing political stickers on cars, but they are smaller and placed elsewhere on the car. I've seen a few Bernie stickers on gas caps that are round and designed to fit on gas caps.

This is strictly my opinion, but I think many folks are reluctant to put campaign stickers on their vehicle these days because they fear bashed in windows, key scratches, dents, etc. or even worse (violence directed at their person). I don't think many of the liberal youth in this country would have a problem bashing your headlights with a bat as a show of disagreement with your political choice if it fails to agree with theirs.