December 17, 2007
Iowa State Grad Student Scrutinizes Political *BS (*Bumper Stickers)
Are political bumper stickers effective advertising tools?
As the nation counts down the days until the Iowa presidential caucus, Patti Brown seeks to answer that question and others on Driving Political Opinion, a Web site she developed for an advertising seminar at Iowa State University.
Patti Brown, with her bumper-sticker “sculpture.” (Photograph by Bob Elbert)
Ms. Brown, who is working toward her master’s degree in journalism at Iowa State University, became interested in bumper stickers when someone removed one from her car — a sticker from Feminists for Life that said, “Women deserve better than abortion.” She replaced it with an identical one and added another that said, “I caucus for Darfur.” She started paying attention to people’s reactions, then decided to explore the history and evolution of campaign bumper stickers for her graduate seminar and share her findings via a blog on her Web site.
She concedes that it is virtually impossible to determine whether a bumper sticker could actually tip an election one way or the other. Ms. Brown’s most significant conclusion may concern what the stickers say about the individual behind the wheel.
“When you put that bumper sticker on your car, what you’re saying is, I’m committed to this electoral process,” she says. “It concretizes your own decision. ... It shows your own engagement in the political processs, and it shows that you’re not being cynical.”
Don Troop | Posted on Monday December 17, 2007 | Permalink
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