What Makes People Stick

It takes a special kind of person to decorate their car's back window or bumper with a sticker. Yes, it's often older cars that get plastered with paraphernalia, but not always. If you're prepared to risk damaging the duco on your car, you must be very committed to the sticker's cause.


Cult Status or Inspirational Messages
There's an underlying cult status attached to the widely shown purple 'Magic Happens' stickers. But it's hard to know what they actually represent. Spirituality? Science fiction? Fantasy? Witchcraft? I doubt even those displaying the stickers know. But that doesn't stop them jumping on the Magic Happens bandwagon, in the hope that some kind of magic will happen to them.

Sporting Club, School or Special Interest Groups

AFL, NRL, and other sporting club stickers are widely prevalent, particularly on utes and tradie vans. Successful teams get a good representation, and funnily enough drivers displaying the St Kilda AFL sticker often look miserable at the wheel. Parents of school kids proudly display their school logos, particularly if they are expensive private schools. Environmental groups also love their car stickers (How often do you see the green Greenpeace ones?!)

The Aggressive, Intimidating and Offensive Take
Seeing a 'Back Off' sticker actually makes you want to tail-gate the offending car. Until of course you realise they are a bearded, possibly toothless, singlet-wearing, tatted-up guy. Similarly, 'If you can read this you're too close' and 'If you can't see my mirror I can't see you' messages are often embraced by aggressive and intimidating truck or van drivers with a chip on their shoulder.

Family Oriented Statements

Like the 'Magic Happens' stickers, the 'My Family' stick figures are well-known and widely hated. Several articles and blogs I've seen have said in response 'I don't give a #$%^ what your family is.' 'Mum's Taxi', 'Baby on Board' are also a hit, primarily with bad, dangerous and selfish drivers who drive as if family values are the least thing on their mind.

If you think you've seen every possible car decoration creation, driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic can surprise you. Fluffy toys dangling from the rear-view mirror; Hello Kitty collections at the back window; and recently spotted, licence plates customised for each star-sign. At least it makes the drive home entertaining.