Ribbon Stickers Have to Go!!!

Warning: High Rant Content Ahead!!!

I have had it with the little ribbon stickers people put on their cars to remind the drivers behind them about some cause. On a recently sited mini-van (and why is it always a mini-van or SUV--don't people in beat up cars like mine have causes?) I saw no fewer than six different colored stickers. In addition to the now standard pink for breast cancer, yellow for the troops and red for aids. I say a black one for POW-MIA, a black and white polka dots or paw prints for some animal rescue organization and a blue one for some cause that I couldn't read since the blue was so dark that the black printing was difficult to read. (not very sound PR efforts if a person sitting 10 feet away can't read it.)

Now before people go chopping my head off, I would like to make clear, I am not attacking the cause itself, merely the means by which the cause is publicized.

It seems to me that this plethora of ribbon showing demonstrates the lack of creativity among the public relations professionals working for non-profit causes. The colored ribbon has become the equivalent of a shorthand for support. The problem is the wide range of colors detracts from the ability of a viewer to understand what the person sporting the ribbon supports. How am I supposed to understand or empathize with your cause symbolized by a ribbon I don't recongnize?

In the absence of a cheat sheet issued to all drivers of the color-coded ribbon stickers, I see a total ban on all stickers that do not conform to the following list. If your cause is not listed here, then come up with a different means of publicizing your cause. Get a little creative talent in a room and come up with something that has nothing to do with a ribbon. The same goes for all the copycat LIVESTRONG yellow bands distributed by the Lance Armstrong foundation. They came up with that idea and now no one else can copy it--period.

Red for AIDS Awareness--the granddaddy of ribbons gets an automatic pass. AIDS activists came up with the idea and like the LIVESTRONG bracelet, they are in.

Pink for Breast Cancer--although not the originator of hte concept, the breast cancer awareness ribbon gets in because they have been the best user of the ribbon idea. On a side note, it also looks better with most outfits as well.

Yellow for Supporting the Troops. Although this is a cop out, yellow ribbons have a long history associated with supporting troops and Americans overseas that denying the use of the ribbon would counteract that history. In the alternative, I will allow a red, white, and blue ribbon for the same purpose. Expressly not permitted is the use of camoflage colors--it just looks silly.

I am a big believer in free speech and will support just about anyone's right to make their case. However, a case is better made if it is made in a creative way. Stop being a copy cat, you are annoying the crap out of me!

Thus endeth the rant.

Ranting in the Traffic Jam