Fads: Spreading the Bad Word

“KICK A PUPPY TODAY,” “Litter,” “Pray for War,” “Stamp Out Whooping Cranes” and 27 more protests against Constituted Authority and dogooding readers-digestism. Set of 31 stickers superb for defacing monuments, peace marchers, bad folk singers, mail, Little Leaguers.

This classified ad tucked away in Manhattan’s weekly Village Voice (circulation: 25,000) is the secret source of an epidemic of sick stickers now appearing in public and private places all the way from San Francisco to St. Thomas. And behind the ad is the private crusade of a gentle-faced, disheveled Greenwich Villager named Charlie Hollis, 37, who writes advertising copy and spends his nights as a Brooklyn College sophomore when he isn’t trying to darken the corner where he is.

“It all started last Christmas,” he says. “I had heard Silent Night thousands of times, and all that happiness made me nauseous. I couldn’t stand the avalanche of goodness.” Instead of just being sick, Hollis had his thoughts-for-the-day printed up as stickers and advertised them. He got 93 orders. Since then his ads, every other week, have sold about 2,000 sets of sick stickers, with orders coming in from as far away as Brazil.

Last week Hollis branched out with a new line: “protest-dappled” sweatshirts at $3.25 and T shirts at $1.80. Snowy white, with gay blue lettering, they will enable the small, medium and large to become walking billboards of misanthropy. BLIGHT A NEIGHBORHOOD. OVERLOAD YOUR WIRING. UNDERPRIVILEGE A CHILD THIS WEEK. LOATHE THY NEIGHBOR. MAKE THE ONE FOR THE ROAD WHISKY.