Arkansas’ political history on display at Little Rock printing business

Elections may come and go in Arkansas, but the campaign bumper stickers, buttons and yard signs can live on even longer.

Want proof? Just step inside Ad Craft of Arkansas.

A visit to the downtown Little Rock business offers a glimpse at how the state’s campaign messages have changed over the years. For nearly seven decades, Ad Craft has been the go-to printer for campaign signs, stickers, shirts and other political swag.

“I love doing campaigns. They are so much fun,” said Randi Evans, the president of Ad Craft. “And I’m friendly to everybody. I do both sides. And when I’m doing spoof stickers, they attack both sides and they’re for both sides.”

A sign outside Ad Craft advertises the “Bumper Sticker Hall of Fame,” and the business lives up to that advertising indoors. Ad Craft’s walls are adorned with stickers, buttons and other campaign paraphernalia throughout the state’s history.

They include red-white-and-blue signs from Bill Clinton’s bids for governor and president, and a poster for the late David Pryor’s campaign for Congress. 

A 1982 bumper sticker proclaims, “Repeel Frank White” alongside the image of a banana peel, in opposition to the then-Republican governor’s campaign. Other familiar names throughout Arkansas politics, from Wilbur Mills to Mike Huckabee, can be seen throughout the offices.

Evans proudly displays one of her most popular signs, a parody of Democratic nominee Al Gore and running mate Joe Lieberman’s campaign sign that was made during the 2000 presidential recount. The campaign logo was transformed into “Sore Loserman.”

“We made yard signs and bumper stickers and t-shirts, and in that 31 days we made about $3,000,” Evans said. “Without even being online.”

Campaign buttons and bumper stickers may feel like a relic in an increasingly online political era of TikTok videos and dueling social media posts. But Evans said there’s still a demand for traditional campaign messages.

“This state really likes yard signs, especially along the Delta,” Evans said. “It’s a good visual thing. It tells you who’s out there. By the time you get in a voting booth, if you don’t pay any attention, basically you remember whose sign you saw.”

Ad Craft’s work stretches well beyond elections, and their work has included signage and printing for other businesses and events.

Evans, whose dad started Ad Craft in 1958, said she hopes to continue the business for another couple years to be able to work on printing materials for 2028 campaigns. But she said she is interested in talking with people who may want to buy the business at some point.

“I would like for them to be politically motivated, because that’s what my dad started doing,” she said.