Bumper stickers have an interesting history in advertising. Back in the day, before cars even had bumpers, people would advertise their businesses on horse-drawn carriages, stagecoaches, buggies, and the sides of their vehicles.
In 1927, Ford created the first automobile with a bumper, the Model A. Still, bumper stickers didn't become a thing. People would just tie a cardboard sign with ropes to the side of their car with a written message.
Bumper stickers came into the picture with the invention of the adhesive label. Ray Stanton Avery invented the first-ever stickers, and Forrest P. Gill then took it up a notch and put fluorescent paint on them to make "bumper strips" – the original bumper stickers.
Gill used DayGlo pigments, which were primarily used for movie posters up until then. Then, during World War II, this high-visibility paint came in particularly handy for safety reasons. Later, artists like Frank Stella and Andy Warhol even used DayGlo in their artworks, but it soon began to be used for stickers that one could see on other cars while driving on the highways.
The first bumper stickers were a chance for people to boast about the places they had visited, as most of them were from roadside attractions. Similar to keychains, suitcase stickers, and tags today, bumper stickers from back in the day signaled that a person was an avid traveler.
In the '50s, bumper stickers also became a vehicle to express one's political views. They became especially popular during the presidential race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Since then, it's likely that every presidential hopeful has used them for their campaign. In fact, in 1968, Alabama governor George Wallace had two million bumper stickers printed for his presidential campaign.
When the '60s came around and anti-Vietnam War sentiments had reached their peak, people began using bumper stickers as an activism tool. As the years went on, it wasn't just about political activism. People began putting stickers on their bumpers that expressed their support for things like reproductive rights, fighting climate change, conservationism, and many others.
You might think that a bumper sticker is just a piece of adhesive paper. But, with a certain message, it can arouse big feelings in other people. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found that people are more likely to honk at bad drivers who have political messages on their bumpers.
The researchers had volunteers drive around with three different stickers on their cars: "Proud Democrat," "Proud Republican," and "I Love My Dog." When the volunteers cut off other drivers without signaling, those from opposing parties were more likely to honk at the offending drivers. If it was a Democrat or an "I Love My Dog" owner cutting off a Democrat, they were less likely to honk. The experiment also worked accordingly with Republicans.
