Messages do not need length to create a meaningful impact, they need to provide information and ideas, and take up as much space as they need to achieve this goal. Bumper stickers with a message have a unique challenge as they have very little space to encapsulate their message. Bumper stickers have to use symbols, images and words in conjunction to best portray their message while still having the luxury of being small on the back of the car. This bumper sticker does a great job at spreading its message in a small amount of space
At this moment there is allot of tension in politics and the world in general over religion, yet this sticker attempts to combat that in a quick and meaningful slogan “Coexist.” Coexist is defined as living in peace with each other especially as a matter of policy, so the use of the word already works to provide a message of peace; however, this bumper sticker expanded that message. This bumper sticker worked to connected all of the main ideologies in the world in its message as it is trying to get all of them to come together by using them to spell out coexist. The bumper sticker begins with the star and crescent of Islam, then a peace sign to better exemplify the message that we need peace. Then it goes to both the men and women gender symbols which help to show about the connections and peace that needs to be had between the genders as we fight sexism. Then it continues on to more religious symbols with the star of david, the Yin and Yang symbol, and the cross. These are all symbols that the audience is expected to know as everyone knows these ideologies and religions.
It also presumes that people would know the commonplace of the word “coexist.” People are expected to know the underlying context of the word in relation to the world right now. They used the symbols also as a great way to connect to each and every person, man and woman, and of every big religion as they need to coexist. Its use of these symbols to connect to each person allows it to connect to the big message of peace between these religions.
Overall this bumper sticker is effective in its message as it uses many of the symbols of many of the conflicting ideologies and religions and uses them in conjunction to spell out one simple word, coexist. With the definition of the word coexist and use of ideological symbols, this bumper sticker aptly spread their message of peace among conflicting ideologies.