Those Signs of the Times

Just about every vehicle these days sports those increasingly popular, message magnets and window signs -- a natural outgrowth and extension of more traditional bumper and window stickers, although these, too, are still around.

Together, the magnets, stickers and window signs tout an endless variety of causes and concerns, as well as proclaim corporate loyalty to either this or that kind of product.

And there doesn't seem to be a limit to the messages expressed. They range from apparent negative and positive personal tastes to schools and universities attended; from travels documented to favorite sports; from political ideas to religious ideals; and from the humorous to the vulgar. And given how greatly reactions and perceptions vary from person to person, people are either amused or annoyed by the signs, though they're rarely completely ambivalent to them.

According to David Baron, MSEd, D.O., professor and chair of the department of psychiatry at Temple University's School of Medicine: "Using the signs is very similar to wearing team colors in college, where at a game 20,000 people will be wearing the same jerseys. It's an instant kind of attraction.

"Obviously, not everyone does it for the same exact reason, but it is about the human drive -- that we want to be part of the group, part of a group because we're proud of something and because, as social animals, we find comfort in great numbers of people doing the same thing and sharing a similar life."

The signs, he continued, represent a means for people to make either a "for" or "against" statement, as well as a statement about themselves, such as "This car is my property."

He noted that "we identify with many things and define ourselves in many ways, as an Eagles fan or a democrat, for example. The signs show that to others, who may be part of what we like or not."

Indeed, signs and stickers can be good things if they arouse someone's interest in either a noble cause or worthy charity, even though they may not go so far as to influence someone to change his or her vote, said Baron.

There are those, too, he remarked, who don't put any signs at all on their cars, perhaps because they view such things as tacky, don't want to junk up their cars, view a car as simply a mode of transportation, or just don't feel the need to express themselves in that way.

"It doesn't mean they don't care about things or care less than others, since most of us are joiners and not loners," he said.

At Abington Memorial Hospital, Joel Schwartz, M.D., and chair of the department of psychiatry, described car signs as an "extension of the person, like refrigerator magnets, that represent an idea, feeling or ideology important to that person.

"Think of the signs as a kind of Rorshach test, based on getting a group of people in a room and asking each of them to pick out five different things to put on their cars. Each would pick out different ideas and design different signs because, while we all want to fit in, we're all individuals who want to stand out."

It would be interesting, he continued, to trace someone who has no signs on his or her car: "The kind of car itself would tell you something about the person, but it might be that no signs say something is lacking in that person's life, or that the person is more into decorating his or her house and not the car."

For a perspective on what the signs mean from a marketing and sales perspective, Dick Lancioni, chair of the marketing department at the Fox School of Business Management at Temple University, offered this assessment. "These kinds of ads -- used to show loyalty or a commitment, and make an informal recommendation to others about an event, team, cause or product -- have been around for a long time," he commented.

"The signs have all of the characteristics of a billboard because they carry a short, sweet, simple message," explained Lancioni. "With marketers always looking for uncluttered time slots in a person's daily routine, at some point, while not all of the time, the signs do have an impact on people's wants."