The bumper sticker that was banned & changed the name of a legendary chain

In the early 1970s, the then latest In N Out Burger bumper sticker became a controversial item when folks edited it, cutting out the b and the r. It got so out of hand that the family owned business, a conservative Christian family known for including scriptures references on their cups and fries container eliminated burger from its name and became just In n Out. Check it out.
 
 

"Some folks eat to live, others live to eat"
 
 

Attached Image(s)

I had a "modified" In-N-OUT bumper sticker on my 1974 Ford Pinto I am proud to say!!!!

I still have a vintage un molested bumper sticker somewhere....... 

I think that the In-N-Out owners handled this situation the right way. I'm also a conservative Christian, and, under the circumstances, I would have done the same thing. When I was growing up, every state had laws against public displays of suggestive or obscene material ( t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. ), but nowadays it appears that anything goes.  

I also had one of the "trimmed" Bumper Stickers on my vehicle during the 80's and 90's (my second bachelorhood). I never had anyone comment on it, except my uncle (aged 80+) who thought it was funny as hell!

I remember those!  I never put bumper stickers on my car.  Too hard to remove.

The In n Out URGE bumper sticker got so out of hand-similar to the "I Found it!" series of bumper stickers with all of its sequels that here in Pasadena, our daily newspaper the Star News had a columnist write about it and he suggested it was a big hullabaloo over nothing because the edited sticker simply meant folks had an *urge* to eat an In n Out, yeah right!
 
Back then my wife and I were really rebel rousers befitting of the times and were part of so many things that when we look back at them now we simply shake our heads in disbelief, but then again the early to mid-70s were a unique period, many legitimate first run movie houses were screening high budgeted porno movies to huge crowds. Anyway, after we  modified an In n Out sticker and placed it on our Datsun(now Nissan) 2-seater convertible, she did some additional cutting and sewed the left hand side of the sticker onto my right pocket of a preferred pair of jeans I was going to wear to a garden party one night. Needless to say we got tons of comments form both genders that night
 
Remember all the "Jesus Freaks" who placed the I Found It stickers on their bumpers?, then the sequels began, I Lost It, I never had It, I don't want it etc etc

This is a story I had not heard before. Very funny.

 What a silly juvenile thing to do - cutting up a bumper sticker to make it read something that only a dirty little mind would find salacious. And, it's always amusing to see the Christians get them selves into a lather over such small things.

BTW, I think I remember that a character in "The Clockwork Orange" used the term "innies and outies" to describe the supposed act the defaced bumper stickers apparently referred to. That would seem to make the name In-N-OUT even more salacious than the innocent word "urge".

Cheers, John  

   

It's not a "small thing".

Small thing or not, It's still amusing

Cheers, John 

My 1st exposure ti In n Out were those bumper stickers. Us poor folks in the central valley didn't have an In n Out. We had to travel down to LA to eat there. Which we did while going to Disneyland and San Diego. Love those burgers!

I was confused until I realized it was the second r they were taking out.  Oh for high school.

Nancy,
   Age does terrible things to the mind doesn't it? My problem was that the '80's saw me as a fifty year old teacher, not an 18 year old student !! While I found the 'IN n OUT URGE' funny, I can't remember why!!

I remember reading about this from a book called Retro Hell.
 
Btw I&O has the best fries of any chain imho.

I suspect that A Clockwork Orange may have inspired the modifications of these bumper stickers.  I remember that the expression "in and out" does appear in the book and in the book it does mean what you think it means.

seafarer john


 What a silly juvenile thing to do - cutting up a bumper sticker to make it read something that only a dirty little mind would find salacious. And, it's always amusing to see the Christians get them selves into a lather over such small things.

BTW, I think I remember that a character in "The Clockwork Orange" used the term "innies and outies" to describe the supposed act the defaced bumper stickers apparently referred to. That would seem to make the name In-N-OUT even more salacious than the innocent word "urge".

Cheers, John  

  

"No time for the old 'in-out, in-out', I'm just here to read the meter." - Alex, A Clockwork Orange

So what was Pete Townend thinking when he wrote Squeeze Box? I sort of doubt he was jonesing for a US burger in the UK.
 
 

It has been 4 years and 6 months since I've had an In N Out.
 
Sucks I tell ya, sucks!

I guess it's time to invoke the Sophie Tucker clause again.
 
Getting old Sucks Mike. So does peripheral circulation.

Nancypalooza


I was confused until I realized it was the second r they were taking out.  Oh for high school.

Thank you! I couldn't figure out why that was so horribly offensive, either. Now I get it.

It's okay felix, we'll keep each other company in the nerd corner over here. :)

surrycounty


It's not a "small thing".

You must love this one.

Dawn-
  I'm another who suffers the age-altered memory syndrome.
When you mentioned Peter Townsend in you post above, The first thought that I came up with was the RAF Officer who came "close" to marrying Princess Margaret back in the '60's. Margaret was the sister of the current Queen Elizabeth, and the press made major stories of the progress of the 'romance' until it evaporated.