Sticker

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Brand name sticker used to label fruit Bananas on countertop.JPG
Brand name sticker used to label fruit

A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation.

Contents

Stickers can come in many different shapes and sizes and also vary widely in color and design. They are often adhered to items such as lunchboxes, paper, lockers, notebooks, walls, cars, windows, used as name tags, and so on.

The term "sticker price" refers to the historic practice of adhering a large sticker to the window of a new car listing its base price, options, shipping charges, etc. (from which a discount was often negotiated).

History

Early renditions of the modern-day sticker would be present during Ancient Egypt, made of bone and ivory tags, to be used to label items for burial. Earliest rendition dating back to 3200 B.C. in connection to the burial of King Scorpion I, [1] with the labels used to detail the contents within and the organization and place it was gifted from. [1]

By the 1880s paper labels would be able to be placed with a gum paste that needed to be moistened with water to activate adhesive its ability that could be placed on most surfaces.

R. Stanton Avery is credited with creating the first self-adhesive sticker in 1935, with commercial sale in 1940 under the name "Kum Kleen Price Stickers", under the former "Avery Adhesives" company in Downtown Los Angeles, where its original use was for labeling on various goods and products. [1]

Use

Ad sticker for a boxing studio in Germany, in the style of guerilla marketing

Stickers are widely used when an object requires identification with a word or idea. Brand stickers may be attached to products to label these products as coming from a certain company. They may also be used to describe characteristics of the products that would not be obvious from simple examination, or to clarify either a printing error or change in the product of some kind, such as the country of origination, shift in a product's ingredients, a shelf life date, or copyright notice, without having to scrap pre-existing packaging for such a small change. A label dispenser is often used as a convenient way to separate the sticky label from its liner or backing tape.

Stickers placed on automobile bumpers, magnetic and permanent, called bumper stickers , are often used by individuals as a way of demonstrating support for political or ideological causes. Identification of vehicle registration and last service details are two examples of stickers on the inside of most car windscreens. The term "window sticker" is generally used for vinyl labels which are stuck to the inside of a vehicle's window, as opposed to water-resistant stickers that are stuck to the outside of a vehicle but can be affixed to anything.

Stickers are also used for embellishing scrapbooking pages. Kinds of stickers sold for this purpose include acrylic, 3D, cardstock, epoxy, fabric, flocked, sparkly, paper, puffy, and vellum. While in the earlier days of scrapbooking stickers were sold mostly on 2"x6" sheets, now[ when? ] 6"x12" and even 12"x12" size sheets are very common.

Sticker vandalism in Sao Paulo, Brazil Stickerart.jpg
Sticker vandalism in São Paulo, Brazil

They are frequently distributed as part of promotional, and political campaigns; for example, in many voting districts in the U.S., stickers indicating an individual has voted are given to each voter as they leave the polling place, largely as a reminder to others to vote. Observers may clap hands, honk a horn or otherwise applaud a good sticker.

In the 16th century French aristocracy wore stickers on their face to hide blemishes. [2]

Temporary stickers are used today to indicate whether someone is free of certain health symptoms, been vaccinated, or otherwise cleared some security protocol.

Stickers are also used as a form of guerilla marketing, as well as serving as a ubiquitous form of visual and physical vandalism.

Stickers are also printed for use as temporary tattoos.

Discount stickers

Yellow discount sticker in use in Japan Mu Mian Yi Chuan Zi Zu Huan Da Dou Bu Shi Yong Xiao Pao Ji Bu Shi Yong  (14129275244).jpg
Yellow discount sticker in use in Japan
Colour-coding is sometimes used for discount stickers Lidl discount stickers, 's-Gravenland, Rotterdam (2021).jpg
Colour-coding is sometimes used for discount stickers

Discount stickers are a price markdown that are used to alert shoppers to goods which have been reduced in price, such as food approaching its sell-by date or inventory in discount clothing or outlet stores. [3] Some stores, especially discount clothing stores, have been accused of using discount stickers to create the impression of price markdowns when there is none. [4] [3]

In certain contexts, specific types of stickers have had additional meaning. For example, yellow stickers are used for this purpose by several British supermarket chains, including Asda, Sainsbury's, and Tesco. Post Brexit cost of living increases in the UK, have highlighted the importance of "yellow sticker shopping" as a way to deal with real price increases. [5] [6] [7]

Collecting

Sticker trade in Brazil for Panini's 2018 World Cup sticker album Troca de cromos da panini - 1.jpg
Sticker trade in Brazil for Panini’s 2018 World Cup sticker album

At their simplest stickers can be beginner-friendly collectables, serving as a gateway to the collecting hobby.

Forming a partnership with FIFA in 1970, Panini first produced a World Cup sticker album for the 1970 World Cup. [8] [9] Initiating a craze for collecting and trading stickers, since then, collecting and trading stickers has become part of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation. [10] [11] UK newspaper The Guardian states, "the tradition of swapping duplicate [World Cup] stickers was a playground fixture during the 1970s and 1980s." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bumper sticker</span> Sticker placed on the back of a car

A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker designed to be attached to the rear of a car or truck, often on the bumper. They are commonly sized at around 25.4 cm by 7.6 cm and are typically made of PVC.

A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. When traded separately, they are known as singles. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sticker art</span> Type of street art

Sticker art is a form of street art in which an image or message is publicly displayed using stickers. These stickers may promote a political agenda, comment on a policy or issue, or comprise a subcategory of graffiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">List price</span> Price that the manufacturer recommends for a retailer to charge

The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer sell the product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decal</span> Pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact

A decal or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper, or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-adhesive stamp</span> Self-adhesive postage stamp

A self-adhesive stamp is a postage stamp with a pressure-sensitive adhesive that does not require moistening in order to adhere to paper. They are usually issued on a removable backing paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office supplies</span> Consumables and equipment regularly used in offices

Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies or data. The range of items classified as office supplies varies, and typically includes small, expendable, daily use items, consumable products, small machines, higher cost equipment such as computers, as well as office furniture and art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Price look-up code</span> Number to identify produce in grocery stores

Price look-up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes, or produce labels, are a system of numbers that uniquely identify bulk produce sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. The codes have been in use since 1990, and over 1400 have been assigned. The codes are administered by the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS), a global coalition of fruit and vegetable associations that was formed in 2001 to introduce PLU numbers globally.

Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, doing business as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in the suburb of Collingwood by Sir George Coles, Coles currently operates 846 supermarkets throughout Australia, including several now re-branded Bi-Lo stores. Coles has over 120,000 employees and accounts for around 27 per cent of the Australian market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adhesive label</span>

An adhesive label or sticky label is a small piece of paper designed to be affixed to any surface, typically by the action of removing a layer of adhesive on the front or back of the label. The term adhesive refers to a sticky substance, while something that is self-adhesive implies that it will stick without wetting or the application of glue to the product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Label</span> Material affixed to a container or article with printed information

A label is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed directly on a container or article can also be considered labelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avery Dennison</span> American corporation

Avery Dennison Corporation is a multinational manufacturer and distributor of pressure-sensitive adhesive materials, apparel branding labels and tags, RFID inlays, and specialty medical products. The company is a member of the Fortune 500 and is headquartered in Mentor, Ohio.

Winners Merchants International L.P is a chain of off-price Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. Its market niche is similar to the American store TJ Maxx, and it is a partnered retailer to department stores HomeSense and Marshalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Saver Foods</span> American grocery store chain

Super Saver Foods was an American price-impact grocery franchise. It was owned by Albertsons LLC. It was a no-frills grocery store where the customers bagged their own groceries at the checkout.

A price markdown is a deliberate reduction in the selling price of retail merchandise. It is used to increase the velocity of an article, typically for clearance at the end of a season, or to sell off obsolete merchandise at the end of its life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic shelf label</span>

An electronic shelf label (ESL) system is used by retailers for displaying, typically on the front edge of retail shelving, product pricing on shelves that can automatically be updated or changed under the control of a central computer server.

Panini is an Italian company that produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards and other items through its collectibles and publishing subsidiaries. It is headquartered in Modena and named after the Panini brothers who founded it in 1961. Panini distributes its own products, and products of third party providers. Panini maintains a Licensing Division to buy and resell licences and provide agency for individuals and newspapers seeking to purchase rights and comic licences. Through Panini Digital the company uses voice-activated software to capture football statistics, which is then sold to agents, teams, media outlets and video game manufactures.

Prizes are promotional items—small toys, games, trading cards, collectables, and other small items of nominal value—found in packages of brand-name retail products that are included in the price of the product with the intent to boost sales, similar to toys in kid's meals. Collectable prizes produced in series are used extensively—as a loyalty marketing program—in food, drink, and other retail products to increase sales through repeat purchases from collectors. Prizes have been distributed through bread, candy, cereal, cheese, chips, crackers, laundry detergent, margarine, popcorn, and soft drinks. The types of prizes have included comics, fortunes, jokes, key rings, magic tricks, models, pin-back buttons, plastic mini-spoons, puzzles, riddles, stickers, temporary tattoos, tazos, trade cards, trading cards, and small toys. Prizes are sometimes referred to as "in-pack" premiums, although historically the word "premium" has been used to denote an item that is not packaged with the product and requires a proof of purchase and/or a small additional payment to cover shipping and/or handling charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discount sticker</span> Method of marking reductions in price

Discount stickers are a price markdown that are used to alert shoppers to goods which have been reduced in price, such as food approaching its sell-by date or inventory in discount clothing or outlet stores. Some stores, especially discount clothing stores, have been accused of using discount stickers to create the impression of price markdowns when there is none.

An association football card is a type of trading card relating to association football, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards feature one or more players, clubs, stadiums, or trophies. Football cards are most often found in Europe, Asia and South America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Amazing History of Labels: When Were Stickers Invented?". www.avery.com/blog/. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  2. "That Time the French Aristocracy Was Obsessed With Sexy Face Stickers".
  3. 1 2 Ettinger, Jill (2023-07-14). "Irate shopper calls out Nordstrom Rack for deceptive price tag: 'Ignore the before prices and percentages'". The Cool Down. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  4. "Shopper disappointed to find sale sticker has same price as tag underneath, but Uniqlo explains why". Stomp. 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  5. Houlton, Cara (9 May 2023). "Nearly 40% of shoppers buying 'yellow sticker' reduced food products". Grocery Gazette. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. Calnan, Marianne (13 May 2023). "Best times of day to get 'yellow sticker' supermarket bargains revealed". Which. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. Peachey, Kevin (16 April 2023). "Loyalty cards: How a big yellow label influences what we buy". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  8. "Brand collaborations". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. "Panini World Cup 2018 stickers: When is the iconic sticker album release date? And how much will it cost?". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Panini World Cup sticker book". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. “The Magic, Global Craze and Tradition of Panini's World Cup Sticker Albums”. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2 September 2018