Why Are Bumper Stickers Suddenly So Good?
Somewhere between car park purgatory and the morning school drop-off, bumper stickers have gotten weirdly... poetic. Not preachy. Not snarky. Just strangely emotional, concise little zingers pasted on Toyota boots and rusting utes. I saw one last week that said, *"Let the cowbells ring."* No idea what it meant. But I haven't stopped thinking about it.
Here’s the thing. Bumper stickers were once a furious public forum for dads with axes to grind. Political slogans, low-effort jokes, or passive-aggressive jabs at cyclists. But lately, there’s been a shift. You still get the odd ‘My other car is your mum’s’ decal, but there is a new generation of mobile mini-billboards, and whoever is designing them is breaking rules in the best way.
Think more haiku, less Facebook meme. Some are made with hand lettering, or use colours pulled from vintage matches or fishing mags. There’s one doing the rounds that’s just an outline of a pie and the words: *"Don’t forget the sauce."* It doesn’t scream brand campaign, which is exactly why it works. They’re not trying to sell, they're trying to say something. But as any aspiring marketer knows, when people aren’t being sold to, that’s when the most influence happens.
I think we’re seeing a new kind of creative real estate open up. A post-digital space that isn’t trying to go viral or chase SEO. It’s physical, it’s real, and it travels at 80kph through your daily life. If I worked at a studio right now, I’d be daring my team to use just 8 words, 1 image, and a sticker. Not to go big, but to go brief. Because the best bumper sticker I saw this month? It just said: *“Might rain.”* Perfect copy.
Here’s the thing. Bumper stickers were once a furious public forum for dads with axes to grind. Political slogans, low-effort jokes, or passive-aggressive jabs at cyclists. But lately, there’s been a shift. You still get the odd ‘My other car is your mum’s’ decal, but there is a new generation of mobile mini-billboards, and whoever is designing them is breaking rules in the best way.
Think more haiku, less Facebook meme. Some are made with hand lettering, or use colours pulled from vintage matches or fishing mags. There’s one doing the rounds that’s just an outline of a pie and the words: *"Don’t forget the sauce."* It doesn’t scream brand campaign, which is exactly why it works. They’re not trying to sell, they're trying to say something. But as any aspiring marketer knows, when people aren’t being sold to, that’s when the most influence happens.
I think we’re seeing a new kind of creative real estate open up. A post-digital space that isn’t trying to go viral or chase SEO. It’s physical, it’s real, and it travels at 80kph through your daily life. If I worked at a studio right now, I’d be daring my team to use just 8 words, 1 image, and a sticker. Not to go big, but to go brief. Because the best bumper sticker I saw this month? It just said: *“Might rain.”* Perfect copy.