The Illustrated History of Video Rental Store stickers!
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| STUCK ON VHS book |
Before streaming services allowed viewers to watch movies from the comfort of their living rooms, or any room for that matter, video stores were where you went to rent your entertainment. DVDs were the format of choice before video stores started going out of business, but before that, it was VHS videotapes that lined the shelves during the 80s and 90s.
Unlike DVDs, VHS tapes needed to be rewound before being returned to the store. Because of this, stickers were stuck directly onto the videocassette, reminding customers to "be kind, please rewind" or some other variation of the phrase. Sometimes another sticker would warn you that a small charge would be applied to you if you did not comply with this rule.
It wasn't limited to just those stickers. You would also see colour-coded stickers indicating which genre the movie was categorized. It would also have stickers for the movies rating. It didn't end there. There were a myriad of stickers used by video stores for promotions of all kinds.
It wasn't limited to just those stickers. You would also see colour-coded stickers indicating which genre the movie was categorized. It would also have stickers for the movies rating. It didn't end there. There were a myriad of stickers used by video stores for promotions of all kinds.
To illustrate this, two authors have compiled a collection of these stickers into a book called Stuck On VHS: A Visual History of Video Store Stickers.
It was written by Josh Schafer, who is the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Lunchmeat Magazine and LunchmeatVHS.com, a print and online publication dedicated to the appreciation, celebration, and preservation of VHS culture.
Photographer Jacky Lawrence is responsible for the book's photos and design.
The book's website also has a long list of individuals who contributed stickers from their own personal collections.
Stuck On VHS features over 1000 real video store rental stickers, along with 3 sticker-sheet pages of peelable, usable stickers. Unfortunately the book appears to be sold out but they have mentioned that they may do a repress later this year.
You won't find any of the following stickers in Stuck On VHS. That's because they're not real stickers. Wait, that's not true. They're real stickers, just not real VHS stickers. These are humourous stickers I designed that I thought would have been funny to see on rented VHS tapes.
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| Close Encounter of the Rewind |
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| Be Cruel and Unspool |
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| It Slipped My Mind, I Forgot to Rewind |
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| If You Don't Rewind, We'll Kick Your Behind |
Close Encounter of the Rewind is an obvious parody of the Third Kind. I could have depicted a mound of mashed potatoes but I think the friendly alien face is more appropriate. Be Cruel and Unspool is what I imagine a disgruntled video store employee would stick on VHS tapes on his or her last day of work. If You Don't Rewind, We'll Kick Your Behind is the video store threatening you with a smile. Apparently "please rewind" wasn't getting the job done. It Slipped My Mind, I Forgot to Rewind is potentially something you would stick on the tape yourself before returning the video to the store, hoping for some leniency to avoid a charge.
Rose Video Rewind Reminder Sticker
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| Rose Video rewind reminder sticker |
Feeling nostalgic, I thought I would design what Rose Video's rewind reminder sticker might have looked like if they had their own. I came up with the polite "We Must Remind You To Rewind" and went from there.
I then submitted my design to Redbubble's Fan Art Program partnership and I was very happy when it was approved as an officially licensed Schitt's Creek product. The sticker is available in four sizes and three different types (transparent, matte, glossy).
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