What is a bumper sticker? Well, the dictionary may give us something like; “a label carrying a slogan or advertisement fixed to a vehicle’s bumper.” And… that would have been an accurate description 40 or 50 years ago, but not so much today.
Yes, bumper stickers can go on bumpers but more often they end up in other locations, perhaps on a car’s window or back hatch but also on snowboards, lockers, walls… all sorts of places. Bumper stickers were traditionally also large rectangles, but one could certainly put other shapes and styles of stickers on their bumper. Other shapes and sizes (like euro style ovals) are more common these days than traditional bumper stickers.
Ever since people started putting stickers on cars there has been a problem with terminology. Is it a car decal? a bumper sticker? A label or sign? I think the term “bumper sticker” is often used for car stickers out of convenience – due to lack of a viable alternative. When you think “bumper sticker” you know it is an outdoor durable sticker… for a car. But, the problem is that people also picture a sticker based on the definition above – a rectangular sticker carrying a slogan or advertisement. So, what do we call outdoor durable stickers used on cars that don’t necessarily bring up antiquated images of “Visualizing Whirled Peas”, “Loving Your Pug” or your chosen candidate for President?
“Car Stickers” is a good all encompassing term. “Promotional Stickers” is probably my preferred term, but not all promotional stickers are for cars or outdoor use. Any term with “label” in it is out, as they often are a paper product that can’t hold up outside. “Car Decal” can work – but to me car decals are usually of the die cut vinyl variety. As I’ve seen from the popularity of my blog post explaining the difference between stickers, decals, and labels there will always be a degree of personal preference, confusion and overlap when referring to car stickers and decals. What is a bumper sticker? I’d say these days it’s any promotional sticker that goes on a car.
Many different factories and suppliers can’t even agree on proper terminology for different sticker styles. My best advice when ordering custom stickers for outdoor use is to make sure they are printed on vinyl or polyester, and, for the most vivid, long lasting print images use screen printed inks when possible. Screen printed stickers have a durability of 3-5 years outdoors. Some offset and digital methods are good for full color printing but not all of those methods are created equal and longevity is closer to 1-2 years outdoors.
What is a bumper sticker? In the end it doesn’t really matter what they are called as long as you get the bumper sticker, car sticker, promotional decal label sign that you need for your promotion, product or signage needs.
We can help you with that…
Jeff Nicholson is the founder and Creative Director at 
