Humour 2020

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Humour News

The Serious Funny Business

Below: Dean Morris on World Naked Gardening Day last month.

Below middle: A Dean Morris design which reflects his and others’ interest in gardening.

Bottom right: One of the new Friday Night Dinner designs from Lesser Spotted.

If ever there was a time when we needed a good laugh, it’s been the last few months - and, as reflected in the sales of online cards as well as those in the stores which have been open, the humorous card offering has done us all proud with the designs’ pertinent observations enabling us to share in our acknowledgement of these strange times with a chuckle.

Humorous cards were on a roll even before lockdown though, coming out top in the recent PG Retail Barometer as being the card category that indies have seen grow in the last year with the continued pace of card publishing activity all serving to further fuel this.

We really hope this Focus on Humorous Cards publication helps to put a smile on your face!

Below: Emotional Rescue has continued to create, test and add new humorous designs during lockdown, such as this On the Ceiling design that taps into the emotive home-schooling topic.

Those in glasshouses…

Some people will do anything for ‘exposure’... thank goodness for watering cans though or we would know a lot more about Dean Morris than we need to!

Ever up for a bit of PR, to mark World Naked Gardening Day last month, Dean (the namesake and design maestro of the humorous card publisher), stripped off and set to watering the plants in his greenhouse, posting an image of him in full green action on Instagram.

The Daily Mail was among those to pick up on the alluring shot, including it in an article about how the lockdown spirit of trying out new things is leading people to derobe while working from home!

While Dean really is a keen gardener he does normally wear clothes while tending his shoots.

“In the 90s I was all about going out clubbing, now I am more interested in potting out my brassicas!” he admits.

Lesser Spotted serves up a Friday Night Dinner

Always one to surprise, Dominic Greyer, md of Lesser Spotted has done it again, on both the product and personal revelations front!

The innovative publisher is publishing a range of licensed cards and gifts based on Channel 4's longest Focus On Humour Cards running sitcom, Friday 3-5 Humour News Night Dinner.

8-9 Lockdown Laughts The popular 12-13 Funny Fame Game 16-17 Age old Subject programme, which has 20-22 New Launches just aired its sixth Max Publishing Ltd, United House, series on Channel 4, even in pre-Covid days was North Road, London N7 9DP attracting around two million viewers each episode.

Tel: 020 7700 6740 www.progressivegreetings.co.uk Added to this are the box-sets sales, plus airings Jakki Brown Editor/Joint Owner on More 4 and Netflix. jw@max-publishing.co.uk The programme centres around brothers Adam Warren Lomax Joint Owner and Jonny's weekly return home to their parents’ warren@max-publishing.co.uk house for dinner with massive side-orders of windGale Astley Deputy Editor galea@max-publishing.co.uk ups and bickering, not to mention the (very) odd PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Humour News

intrusions from Jim, their dogowning/dog-phobic neighbour.

Lesser Spotted has developed a collection of 18 cards designs in halftone and overprint graphic styles featuring catchphrases from the series, such as Shit On It, You Look Nice, I'm Bloody Boiling!, Pissface/Pusface, Shalom, Hello Bambinos, Lovely Bit of Squirrel and Something Smells Nice.

A fan of the series, Dominic was delighted to be approached by Warrick Brennan, the licensing agent for the programme.

“Warrick made contact as a friend had sent him one of our Jim’ll Paint It designs which he thought was really funny,” explains Dominic who reveals how this is the second time that he is involved with the series’ writer and producer Robert Popper. The first involved Dominic being a last minute replacement for Coldplay’s Chris Martin on the TV series Look Around You, which involved him appearing in one episode as a man called Nigel, who wore nothing but purple pants and underwent a spoof brain operation.

“I was working as part of the camera team, but when Chris Martin bottled it - it seemed he wasn’t too keen on being seen wearing only purple pants on TV - I stepped in,” reveals Dominic. “It was listed in the top-20 funniest moments of 2002!” You can still see Dominic in his starring role on YouTube!

Above: Dominic Greyer circa 2002 on the BBC’s Look Around You.

Keeping up with the Jonesy Having had his cartoons published by many leading media brands, including Private Eye, The Oldie, The Spectator and the London Evening Standard, Steve Jones (aka Jonesy) can now add Lucilla Lavender to his list, while the card publisher is now enjoying having a range featuring the work of this renowned cartoonist in its portfolio.

The new collaboration might never have come about if it was not for Jonesy’s wife remarking how much she liked a card she had received, the penguin design from Lucilla Lavender’s Birdiculous range.

“Steve emailed, unprompted, some examples of his pen and ink characterisations of animals, and Anneke (Driscoll, co-founder of Lucilla Lavender) and I were immediately taken with them,” Lucilla Lavender, the company’s co-founder told PG.“I loved them! They had the perfect combination of appealing illustration and clever copywriting, and I immediately found them funny. The animals ‘spoke’ as if they were human, in situations many would find relatable, and the simply captioned scenes had a style and layout which Anneke and I knew would work well,” she added.

Above: One of the designs in the new Jonesy range from Lucilla Lavender.

A new pickle recipe GBCC’s long-running Two Fat Gherkins humour range has been turbo-charged and given a complete overhaul and radical makeover by the talented Miki Rose. Great gags about booze and ageing, vintage black and white imagery combined with a bang on-trend colour palette deliver one hell of a punch!

Left: A new look Two Fat Gherkins design.

An ear for politics Boris Johnson suffering from the Coronavirus himself was far from ideal, neither for the PM nor the nation, but as soon as he was out of intensive care and on the road to recovery it not only lifted the spirits of the population, but also the sales of the Politically Incorrect soundalike card design from Really Wild Cards.

And Boris is not the only politician to have scored on the card front for the publisher. “I am so pleased that our good ole President Trump hasn’t let us down with his ridiculous behaviour and bizarre quotes so great news for me with ongoing sales!” said John Wignall, owner of the business.

“In between the constant stream of mostly hilarious WhatsApps that have been doing the rounds I have been glued to the news and constantly changing channels hoping beyond hope for some new larger than life politicians - characters with a great personality/sense of humour to appear,” added John, revealing that the outspoken controversial presenter, Piers Morgan is among those on the slate to join the card range.

Above: The Boris design from Really Wild Cards’ Politically Incorrect range.

Moonpig’s £200K donation Supported by card publishers and comedians forgoing their royalties on a range of ecards, online greeting card operator, Moonpig donated £200,000 to BBC Children in Need’s and Comic Relief’s joint coronavirus fundraising event.

The quips include: • Micky Flanagan: “When all this being in in is over, we’re not just going out or out out, we are going out out out!!!”

• Sarah Millican: “We're all just wearing our gravy spattered tops another day, yes?“ • Deborah Frances-White (The Guilty Feminist): "I'm a feminist, but the first Thursday after lockdown I believe we will come out and applaud the waxers and threaders" • Katherine Ryan: "Joining Nextdoor was an excellent way to realize that EVERYONE IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD IS TERRIBLE" Among the many designers/publisherswho agreed to forgo all their royalties for the month of April on her eCards was Soula Zavacopoulos, founder of The London Studio. Commenting, Soula told PG: “I really admire Moonpig for raising money for such an amazing cause and getting both designers and celebs on board.”

Above: A design from Moonpig’s celebrity eCard range.

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Lockdown Laughts

Isolated Incidents

Loo roll stockpiling and flour shortages, social distancing, home hair-cutting, baking obsession, Netflix bingeing, Zoom cocktail parties, while all in a serious cause, lockdown has birthed its own phrases and behaviour patterns. And where there is adversity there is invariably humour.

PG delves into how the experiences of the last few months have been and will continue to be reflected on humorous cards.

They may take our pubs .

But they wilL never stop us drinking in our kitc hens.

While everyone has their own personal ‘sense of humour’, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for card publishers and retail stockists to cater for these, the fact that everyone was plunged into lockdown at the same time created an enormous commonality which makes for fertile ground on the humour (as well as the empathetic) front.

As Rosie Harrison, founder of Rosie Made a Thing sums up: “we are all experiencing the same problems, the same irritations and the same challenges. Most of us have been spending too much ‘quality' time with our spouses, over-eating, home-schooling, touching our faces, watching Netflix, cutting our own hair, missing pubs being open, the list goes on…”

While she acknowledges that some themes will peter out as the situation moves on - “obtaining loo roll doesn’t seem to be such an issue any more (but don’t get me started on flour though!)” - other elements, such as “face masks, social distancing and lack of pubs and restaurants will continue into our new normal,” believes Rosie, who this month is launching a range of Isolation-themed card designs that have evolved from the positive reactions she has received to her daily illustrative observations she has posted on Instagram.

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Above left: Ohh Deer’s Safely Endangered designs and memes chime with the feelings of the nation.

Left: Rosie Made a Thing has created a whole range of isolation designs.

Middle left: A new Cloud Nine design from Redback that sums up lockdown life.

Bottom: Dean Morris has tapped into life without hairdressers or barbers.

Another avid social media feeder, Dean Morris, founder of Dean Morris Cards has also been encouraged by the reaction to his lockdown-reflective memes, several of which have made it onto cards, with plenty of others in the pipeline. “One unique lockdown phenomenon that has been very popular as a card - and initially a meme I created for Instagram - is a random card about banana bread. It’s not for a specific occasion, but has sold very well,” reveals Dean. While there are some specific references which have shot to fame - “If you had asked me a year ago who Carole Baskin was I wouldn’t have had a clue but anything with her or Tiger King on have been very popular, but how long that particular zeitgeist will last is anyone’s guess” - there are other situations which are set to continue.

Missing birthdays and other occasions with people you would traditionally spend time with have been very popular themes and there will be lots of catching up when things do start to return to normality. As Dean reveals the ‘sorry I’m missing your birthday - let’s get drunk later when the pubs are open again’ is likely to continue as a sentiment for a little while yet.

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Lockdown Laughts

Among the lockdown designs which Redback has published, which reference the limitations of video calls, the likely outcome of a home haircut and the ‘poor rating’ of a May birthday, one Cloud Nine design scoops up the whole period. It reads ‘2020. Great unless you want to do anything, buy anything, go anywhere or see anyone’.

While lockdown has spawned a whole raft of new topical funnies which tap into the new-fangled buzzwords or Covid-isms, as Martin Powderly, creative director of Pigment has discovered, the current situation has also brought a new pertinence to some existing designs.

“The ‘staying in is the new going out’ design in our Hey Girl range as a result of lockdown is all the more

relevant, as is our Cuckoo design which says ‘the wheelie bin gets out more than I do’ which have gone on to be best sellers,” reveals Martin. He also signals how with couples enforced to spend more time together, some of the wording on relations cards is even more poignant. “We have one husband card that indicates he is a ‘work in progress’ which very much chimes with what many wives are thinking right now!”

Danilo is another publisher which has found a heightened resonance with some of its ranges, notably Dad’s Army and

Friends. As Dan Grant, Danilo’s licensing director highlights “With millions of people across the UK at home due to the Covid-19 lockdown, we’re seeing a significant but unsurprising increase in the level of TV consumption across the nation.

Retro humour titles such as Friends, Only Fools and Horses, Father Ted and Dad’s Army are all good examples of light-hearted TV shows that have experienced a comeback to our screens in recent months through mainstream and ondemand services. It’s clear that engaging in past shows such as these allows people to temporarily escape the stress of their present professional and personal situation.”

Just as “Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring” was a popular rally call for Dad’s Army character Corporal Jones in the classic TV series, so it seems humorous cards are doing their bit for the Covid19 war effort in all their multifarious forms from the downright silly to the politically barbed.

Mark Callaby, md of Ohh Deer concurs. Mark cites its Breaking News design card in particular from its Technically Ron range as summing up the current, more politicised feeling of the nation - a shared togetherness in not really knowing what is going on.

As it states on its website next to the design, ‘We may as well admit it, we're all sick of 'BREAKING NEWS' and we might as well call it 'effing hell, what now'?

C'mon humans, sort it out!’ As Mark points out, the fact that this has been such a winner, and is awaiting a reprint, says it all.

As Dean Morris sums up: “Whenever there is any crisis the British always look to humour to help deal with it” and there is always a card there waiting!

Top: Friends’ nostalgic pull as well as the series being discovered through greater TV watching is something Danilo has picked up on.

Above left: A trio of Hey Girl cards that now have greater meaning during lockdown.

Above right: Technology and cards combine in this Sweary Cards’ design.

Far left: A topical twist from Poet & Painter.

Left: A clever pun on a Meraki design.

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Funny Fame Game

Celebrity Squares From drag artists and reality show listers to zeitgeist pop icons and movie screen legends, the mass following and immediate recognition of celebrities from many fields has seen them extend their power of influence onto humorous greeting cards, with their own satirical depictions.

PG papped some famous card publishers to find out more about the appeal of the funny fame game and how they satirise these full on personalities into graphical greeting cards that resonate with the public. Above left: Scribbler was quick to respond to the Netflix mega hit, The Tiger King.

Above: Ed Sheeran on a Famous Faces card from Tache.

Jess Howell, founder of Rumble Cards:

Meghna Jhuremalani, founder of Nocturnal Paper:

Appeal of the real: “I think with the rise of social media, celebrity culture has become much more popular in the last five years. Without even realising it we are constantly watching what they do - whether it’s scrolling through Instagram, seeing advertisements or watching TV. Whether they are a cult classic or a social media influencer, they appeal to a wide audience. Top sellers just depend on your audience and who you want to sell to.”

Artist’s impression: “I started making celeb cards in 2014 - in fact they were my first range of cards. I initially put my designs on Etsy and saw there was a huge demand for this style. Retailers were a little bit unsure initially as there weren’t many celeb cards of this type around.

I don’t think of creating celeb catchphrases and puns as being any different to creating non-celeb cards. It’s just about bringing your own sense of humour through and making your designs original.”

Appeal of the real: Our cards are heavily inspired by everything trending pop culture, music, food, etc. It wasn't something we consciously planned - it was just something that inspired us and it came naturally. Our greeting cards are all about finding ways to bring back the personal touch to communication by encouraging handwritten messages amidst all the memes, GIFs and WhatsApp forwards. Our celebrity cards bring what we spend hours scrolling Above: Live the high life with a Nocturnal Paper card! through on our phones onto paper.

While the instant recognition of celebs plays a part, we feel illustrating the famous person in a humorous way or adding some fun text adds to the appeal. While Beyonce, Happy Bey-Day is our best seller, my fave celebrity has to be Rihanna as I just love her energy and find her incredibly inspiring.”

Artist’s impression: “How easy is it to turn celebrity’s phrases into funny gags? It's a mix, we want the text and illustration to reflect the celebrity and their personality and still fit in a category for card giving - so it is not always easy. Sometimes the phrases come in a minute, sometimes it takes days!”

James Ward, founder of Quite Good Cards: Top: Drag queen RuPaul is right up there on the celeb status as wonderfully depicted on this Rumble Cards’ design.

Above and right: Rumble Cards got the ultimate endorsement – when the Kardasian sisters raved about the Jay Z giftwrap from Rumble on their Instagram feed and it was picked up by the media.

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Appeal of the real: “The appeal for celebrities on greeting cards probably has its roots in the political cartoons in the 18th Century by people like James Gilray (though even further back than that, ancient Greek painter called Pauson took great delight in depicting the repulsive elements of Greek leaders).

Left: The first celebrity card design Quite Good Cards ever produced.

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Funny Fame Game

From those early cartoons to Spitting Image, the Brits just seem to love puncturing puffed-up egos taking them down a peg or two.

When we started six years ago there weren't as many celebrity card designs out there and we are proud to have played a small part in making them a staple of the UK greeting card industry.

Our first celebrity card was Adele Boy. After finding out that Adele lived in South East London from the age of 11 it seemed too Above: Dame Judi Dench as you have perfect a fit to have her mixed with never seen her – on a Quite Good Cards design.

‘Del Boy’ - plus the name fits so well! And when we saw our design on a giant flag when she was performing at Glastonbury in 2016 we had a feeling that we might be onto something!

Since we started, social media has become a bigger part of our lives and this has certainly accelerated the proliferation of celebrity-based designs.”

Artist’s impression: “One of our most popular celebrity cartoons is of Bruce Spring Clean and we recently found out that Dame Judi Dench buys our Judi Hench card from her local Scribbler store. It's good to know that some celebrities can have a laugh at themselves, although I am sure it's not true of all of them!

We don't really concentrate on the phrases they say but focus more on puns of their names. We try to come up with ideas that juxtapose their public image or playfully poke fun at them. We do try to be more funny and daft than cruel and cutting because at the end of the day they are all human and even Bruce Springsteen might need to clean his bog at some point. Nothing wrong with that!”

Rebecca Wright, director of Middle Mouse: Appeal of the real: “I love pop culture especially when it extends to tapping into nostalgia too, both of which are at play in our Characterful range. They really bring people together as they share in the joke. Blackadder is a favourite, despite not being on TV so much anymore.”

Artist’s impression: ”I try and keep the phrases simple and clear, some really lend themselves to occasions, like ‘Hello Darling’ for Valentines, and Ron Swanson’s ‘I regret nothing’ has been used as an Anniversary card! I think the simplicity adds to the gag!”

Above: The nostalgic pull of a Middle Mouse design which harks back to the Blackadder TV series.

Nicole Beswick, founder of Native 21: Appeal of the real: ”Bingewatching shows with friends, attending their concerts, watching their movies solely because they star in them, quoting their catchphrases, sharing memes on social media - celebrities are such a big part of people's lives, and to reflect that on a card can be super personal. As an avid meme follower, social media user and Netflix addict, I am constantly inspired by celebrities and their humour and the process of adapting them to new card designs.

Phillip Schofield recently noticed our ‘Silver Fox’ card based on him, in Cards Galore and put it on his Snapchat story, which was a bonus!”

Artist’s impression: “I particularly love illustrating celebrities from TV shows such as Gavin and Stacey and Gogglebox, two shows I watch and re-watch religiously!

A celebrity’s appropriateness for cards depends on their personality and how well known their phrases are. Take Gemma Collins, as an example. Adding ‘happy birthday’ to her phrases can be simple, but make for a great selling card. Some phrases may need to be worked into the different occasions, but as long as they're recognisable then that often works well.”

Above: Gavin and Stacey’s Nessa in all her glory on a Native 21 design.

Amy Woodrow Arai, account manager for Cath Tate Cards: Appeal of the real: “Celebrities are great for greeting cards as they are instantly recognisable and we have a warm affection for them because we all feel like we know them! They hold a sentimental familiarity for us which is especially so for big characters. One of our personal faves is our David Attenborough card because he’s such a legend - we all wish he was our grandad! This card has emerged as one of our bestsellers. Another card we’re loving is our new Stormzy card - he’s a local lad done good and we’re proud south Londoners! He went to school just down the road from our office! Other bestsellers include The Beatles, Prince, RuPaul and Jurgen Klopp. Klopp goes down very well in our Liverpool shops of course!”

Artist’s impression: “All the celebrities in our Modern Icons range are hand-drawn by illustrator Jo Burrows of Wot Ma Like (who has also reproduced them successfully on wooden keyrings and coasters).

Jo’s ability to capture the likeness and character of the celebrities really bring the caricatures to life. We worked with Jo to add a spot of humour with captions to the famous faces. We’ve found working with Jo has been great as she’s got a similar sense of humour. We’ve found that when creating captions to fit the celebrities, it’s best to keep it simple, keep the captions short and sweet. A witty nod to what they’re famous for and Jo’s great illustrations do the rest!”

Above: Sir David Attenborough as depicted by illustrator Jo Burrows for Cath Tate’s Modern Icons range.

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Age Old Subject

Senior Street Where did those wrinkles come from? Why have I got hairs on my chin? Or, in contrast, where did my hair go? And then there are those times when you can’t remember where you left your glasses/phone/keys/car/dog/kids. But in the aging realm of hot flushes, changing bodies, grasping new technology and mobility scooters there’s joy to be found in relaying the, often funny, scenarios that the aging process brings, bonding us with those who are travelling down that inevitable path. And, as card publishers’ outpourings testify that boulevard is strewn with funny fodder for humorous cards.

“Getting older is an inevitable fact of life, and a perennially popular subject matter for greeting cards after all, the whole point of a birthday is to mark the occasion of someone becoming another year older,” succinctly states Mark Graham, editorial manager of the Humour & Character Studio for UKG. And despite not welcoming the onset of creaking knees and receding hairline, Mark believes, “People have always used humour as a way of either facing up to uncomfortable reality or sweeping it under the carpet. We may as well laugh about getting older because, as the saying goes, it’s better than the alternative!”

And Go La La’s co-founder, John Higgins agrees, feeling that, like the weather, getting older is a typically British gripe, and this gives the card publisher plenty of scope for humorous cards. “Bits fall off/out and wrinkles start to appear alongside aches, pains and strange tufts of hair sprouting from weird places. We laugh about them because we can’t control them.”

The technological advancements are not necessarily in synch with our passing years as we grapple with the ever-changing demands of social media, Zooming, and the frustrations when the computer/laptop just ‘won’t work’, can, in hindsight, create comic moments.

Oliver Preston, cartoonist and founder of Beverston Press, perceives and illustrates these funny moments in people’s behavior. “As I get older I observe, and take on board the funny things that the older generation get up to. When I draw I try and explore what Thelwell called ‘the endearing lunacy of human behaviour.’ People often look at my cards and 16

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Above: A Curious World design from Icon.

Far left: A Happy Birthday design from Go La La’s Footnote range.

Below left Oh the joys of getting older! A Holy Mackerel design.

Below: A way to get around memory loss from Oliver Preston/Beverston Press.

say to me that “you obviously know all the same people I do,” but all I am doing is putting a spin on the dotty things that people get up to.”

Then, not forgetting, there’s our fading memory as we reach our middle age! How we used to laugh when our granny couldn’t recall where she’d put her false teeth, thinking, ‘that will never be me’.

How wrong we were!

Kiss me Kwik is the longest running licensee of the Ladybird Vintage Collection, producing humour cards using the well-loved illustrations from the archive for over 15 years. “We love to explore the archive and come up with new and hilarious applications for these internationally beloved assets,” explains Kiss Me Kwik’s head of design Matt Barker. One of its best-selling cards, ‘Bad Mother’ from the Ladybird Books range picks up on one common ‘senior moment’… remembering people’s names - even of our own children! “This card is obviously relatable - borne out by the fact that it has gone viral several times across social media - often coinciding with Mother’s and Father’s Days. It has been shared many tens of thousands of times over its lifetime,” adds Matt.

Rebecca Wright, director of Middle Mouse, points to one the designs in her popular Characterful range. “Inspired by the inimitable Lady Viola from Downton Abbey, this card sums up the feeling when your birthday is more candles than cake!” But one comic element of getting older reflected on cards, no matter how many birthday candles you have, is growing old ‘disgracefully’, defying the reality that, just sometimes, you can’t do the things you used to do, be that drink ‘til dawn, Above right: It happens to us all, a design from Twizler.

Left: The Kiss Me Kwik design that recently went viral many times.

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Age Old Subject

kick a ball about for 90 minutes or drink fluids past 8pm without getting up for the loo in the night. “'The Joys of Ageing' is a card that we feel is a truth teller,” believes Bryn Dineen, co-artist of Poet and Painter. “We think that it's best to laugh in the face of ageing and do it as disgracefully as you can. You are only young once, and thank goodness that the pressure is finally off... once you've stared 50 in the eye and survived, here's to every chance to celebrate all of our still beating hearts and lived-in faces. The lines don't count if everyone is laughing!”

For some, however, we relax and admit that life is just more chilled and sweeter in our later years. “’Then vs now’ is a popular theme for age-related cards. Laughing at ourselves and the fact that we have lost touch with some of the wild recklessness of youth and musing over how our priorities have changed over the years,” says Emma Young, operations manager for Paperlink.

Above: Lady Viola from Downton Abbey from Middle Mouse.

Right: ‘The Joys of Ageing’ from Poet & Painter reflects on the funny side of getting older.

Below: Defiance in the face of old age - A Wot A Mug design from Cherry Orchard.

Getting older, and the hilarity that ensues, is a popular theme across Redback’s humour cards.

“It’s a subject that appeals to almost everyone, through so many different perspectives,” says Luka Thorp, designer for Redback Cards. “Whether you’re a 40year-old struggling with new-found backache, or a forever young at heart OAP - who doesn’t wish they were 21 again?” he adds.

UKG’s Funnily Enough range carries some fine examples of a contemporary adult age humour; really relatable milestone age references about the important decisions we face at 18, hangovers being noticeably worse at 40 and looking on the bright side of being 80, but ageing is one of those subjects where consumer tastes can vary considerably, feels UKG’s Mark Graham.

“Some people delight in sending each other rude cards about unexpected grey hairs, incontinence, wrinkles and saggy bits, whereas for others such references would be deemed too personal and potentially insulting.

Forgetfulness and memory loss is also a traditional staple of ageing humour, but this is becoming an increasingly sensitive Above right: Devilishly cheeky, a Deadpan design.

Right: A Funny Farm design from Paperlink.

Feeling hot, hot, hot And, for many women reaching middle-age, going through the menopause can be a difficult stage in life but with it comes a (heat)wave of hilarity, instances of ditsy-ness and defiance when faced with their body’s changes.

Taken by theatrical photographer Besanno in the early 20th century, Cath Tate Cards has coloured the image up to bring our hot lady to life. ‘‘Still Hot but it comes in flushes now!’, we absolutely love this bestselling card,” says Amy Woodrow Arai, account manager for Cath Tate. “It’s an affectionate joke about the menopause that lots of women can relate to. She’s got the perfect expression for a cheeky defiant lady of a certain age!”

Left: One of Cath Tate’s ‘hot’-selling cards.

Right: Looking back wistfully, a Redback Cards design.

Below: Can’t handle the hangovers anymore?

UKG has just the card for you.

Bottom right: A design from Kingfisher Cards’ latest Wild Thing range.

subject with growing awareness of conditions like Alzheimer’s.”

Mark has observed that it’s a paradox of greeting card humour that the harshest age jokes are often reserved for 30th and 40th birthday designs, whereas at higher ages such as 60, 70 and 80 the humour softens considerably and often disappears altogether.

“This is obviously because at 30 and 40, the recipient isn’t really old, it’s just a joke, whereas once somebody gets to 80, people tend to want to be kinder and gentler with their messages,” says Mark, suggesting, “There could also be generational factors at play, the 80-year-olds of today grew up in less irreverent times and are perceived as less likely to appreciate a cutting jibe about their age for this reason. Who knows, perhaps in a few decades time we’ll be seeing some really savage 90th birthday humour for geriatric Gen Ys!” Neil Taylor, founder of Deadpan Cards admits the publisher only recently started designing age cards but is discovering the opposite, finding that the older generations have a great sense of the irreverent and cheekiness. “Given that our cards can be painfully truthful, we thought it’d be the cards for people turning 21, 30 and 40 that would do best. But the 50s, 60s and 70s designs have been flying off the shelves, with shops asking for us to do more and more. Old codgers have a sense of humour too!” jokes Neil.

Now…where did I leave the keys for my mobility scooter?!

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THE GREATEST COLLECTION OF GREETING CARDS IN THE WORLD

Bringing hundreds of card publishers and retail buyers together in one place, the new September date for PG Live 2020 is perfect for rebuilding businesses, refreshing ranges and reconnecting with friends.

“Fantastic! We will absolutely be needing PG Live by September; everybody will be so hungry for new ranges and keen to discover new publishers.”

John Procter, managing director, Scribbler

PG Live 2020 Tuesday 2 - Wednesday 3 September Business Design Centre, London +44 (0) 1635 297070 www.progressivegreetingslive.com @PGLiveLondon #PGL2020

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New Launches

Wise-Cracking Collective With a collective of new humour card ranges ploughing the farmstead funnies, PG discovers some of the new launches from this wise-cracking commune.

l Targeting the ever-popular retro market, Danilo’s official card and wrap designs have been developed for nostalgic British comedies such as Dad’s Army, Allo Allo, Are You Being Served as well as for hit sitcom Friends. These licensed ranges allow you take a humorous trip down memory lane with prevalent TV shows of the 1970s, 80s and 90s resonating well with those who grew up watching them as well as those discovering them for the first time. l Fresh off the Olivetti comes ‘Type’, a new everyday range from Brainbox Candy.

Hilarious new captions featuring a touchy feely embossed and varnished finish feature on 24 designs which come with a gorgeous tailormade red striped envelope. In addition to everyday captions, there are some age designs too.

e rs One of my fea in life is that ns low rise jean will make k ck bac a comeb

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l Cath Tate Cards’ new range Colour me Happy is a bit of a revealing window into director Rosie Tate’s mind! Hilarious text cards reflecting on the pitfalls of parenthood, the realisation that you’re not 25 anymore (and an

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

acute fear of low-rise jeans coming back into fashion) feature on 16 designs with bold and embossed text, over a colourful pastel wash design. Each comes with a powder blue envelope. l Kiss Me Kwik’s new range encompasses cheeky, funny, sometimes smutty, often naughty, cards. The designs juxtapose imagery from a bygone era of advertising and editorial photography with hilarious slogans and imposed speech bubbles expounding much more contemporary (and often a bit rude!) concerns and amusements.

This range spans all of KMK’s favourite subjects: fad diets, glamour, satirical slogan cards, muscly men on the beach, puns, laziness, promiscuity and all round fabulousness. What’s not to like? l Bold & Bright has added even more cards to its ever-popular birthday selection, bringing the total birthday section to over 70 designs.

Many feature funny age-related issues, as well as popular drinking ones. While the card range includes many rude ones, there are many more now that are more cheeky than risque. All cards are 7” x 5”, and come with a brown kraft envelope. l Seen in colour for the very first time is Woodmansterne’s Fred range. Rupert Fawcett became a professional cartoonist almost by accident in 1989 when he drew a little bald man in braces and carpet slippers, and named him Fred.

The Fred cartoons are as topical as ever and now

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New Launches

available on 12 everyday cards and four Christmas singles (G cards) with a UV finish. Enjoy the bald, braces-wearing Fred and his wife Penelope, joined by their friends Mr and Mrs Nesbit, the long-suffering Pip, cousin Frank and Anthony the cat.

l Splimple has ‘doggy’ bagged a new licence from the US - the extraordinarily popular Red and Howling range, which has half a million pet-obsessed social media followers, including several thousand in the UK. The creator is California-based Amy Luwis, whose videos have received half a billion views worldwide.

Splimple is initially releasing 32 designs.

l LMAO brings a touch of millennial style and humour to the Paper House (GBCC) portfolio. Each card combines observational humour with an on-trend colour palette and a striking rose gold foil. Pairing them with a brown ribbed envelope brings a touch of tradition to this bold and modern collection. The range is printed on a high quality textured art board, is sized at 5” x 7” and is priced at code HH. l Beverston Press is launching a new range of Oliver Preston’s cards - a contemporary humour range. Preston’s cartoons have been appearing in Country Life magazine since last November and the new range is based on his weekly cartoons. There are sporty and towny - and country themes drawn in the inimitable style of this popular cartoonist. l Dandelion Stationery’s new Sherbet collection is a contemporary typographic range featuring a holographic foil finish.

With 30 cards in the range, it includes designs that are suitable for birthdays as well as all other occasions. Printed on luxury 300gsm FSC certified white board, the cards (114mm x 162mm)

are supplied with grey and white patterned envelopes, individually wrapped unless you request naked cards, in which case they will be packed with a card clasp.

l Go La La’s ‘Trollied Dollies’ is a new range of over 20 designs featuring a collection of dolls behaving badly. And sometimes behaving quite well! The concept for this range has been on the back-burner since 2017 and has now finally come to fruition after months of painstaking prep, knitting and sewing of tiny trousers!

Fun designs with a vibrant colour-popping palette, the cards measure 5” x 7”, are printed on a silk board and supplied with a light grey envelope. l Wit For Brains is an exciting new contemporary humour look from UKG. Combining a modern design aesthetic with witty, knowing editorial, it’s perfect for consumers looking for something that’s funny, smart and clever with a bit of Gen Y attitude. For those sending situations when a cat saying “Yeah, I don’t care” means that you do care, really!

l Ohh Deer has doubled the laughs with its two recent humour ranges. The ‘Define This’ range is brutally honest and ever relatable, adding hilarious definitions to familiar and foreign words alike. You’ll instantly connect with them, encompassing all the unusual things that happen to us throughout our lives. The Social Type’s range includes greetings for almost all occasions, welcoming handwritten correspondence over the impersonality of social media. The designs’ blunt and to-thepoint anti-sweet card captions are perfect for sending sarcastic funny messages to friends and family, or even to the people you aren’t fond of.

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New Launches

l ‘The Influencers’ from Paper Rose is a photographic humour range featuring a selection of animals based on meme culture, following the online trend of sharing images with captions to reflect current social commentaries and clichés. An easy, fun open send, this collection of 12 designs are printed on FSC accredited board which is 100% recyclable. Each card comes with a white envelope.

birthday drink (Club Tropicana, obviously!) Cute, fun and quirky, Public Info takes a super fresh approach when it comes to the delivery of humour on cards. Additionally, Paperlink’s new Penny Farthing range consists of smart, vintage inspired visuals which are used to deliver droll life observations and bizarre takes on Victorian ephemera. There is plenty of teasing about getting older, a bit of mickey taking about consuming vast quantities of alcohol and the occasional crafty pun and double entendre.

l The ‘Telegraphic’ range from Poet and Painter is a departure from the publisher’s inky splashy thinking and is a nod to the beauty and function of the Telegram.

When you are paying by the word you want every single one to count, and if they can raise spirits and smiles, then every penny is very well spent... The cards are the company’s standard 150mm square size, on FSC-approved matt stock, with vegetable based inks and a plain white envelope. All of Poet and Painter's cards are available totally naked or with an Eco Klasp on request. l Redback has recently added some fantastic new additions to its contemporary range, Good Things. Featuring quirky illustrations paired with witty observations, this much-loved range is a hit with all the guys (and girls)! Whether you want to jokingly remind Dad about his ‘fatherly figure’ or you want to let your brother know you’ve ‘got his back’, these hilarious designs are the perfect way to say cheers to the charming men in your life! l Public Info is a new range from Paperlink packed full of true stories and important stuff you need to know.

Discover what happened to your Birthday chocolates. Learn the truth about `crosstrainers` and find the best place to get a

l With the emulsion still wet, Lesser Spotted’s Jim'll Paint It range has a new and topical addition. Jim’ll Paint It is a prolific artist who illustrates requests from his fans using only Microsoft Paint, the world's most basic painting software!

‘Corona-tion Street’ design is his hot-off-thepress take on the current state of the world, depicting Ken Barlow and his creation ‘Robo-Deirdre 4000’ in front of a postapocalyptic triffid-infested Rover's Return. This 15cm square card will be available as soon as a new normality arrives. l Heritage Art & Design has launched a refresh, including lots of newness in its The Vicar of Scribbly range and new additional humour style DB’s. The Vicar of Scribbly now has 12 new colour greeting cards in its scribbly style. The new range… DB’s (too rude to say in full) is initially a small capsule range with ‘Wino-Saurus’ and ‘Catch up Television’ likely to resonate with many recipients. l Growing in popularity, Paper Plane’s Millennial Wisdom A6 size card range has launched recently. Old sayings, particularly things mums and dads say, have been given a funny, modern twist.

Also launched alongside, is Neonfetti, a bright and bold range featuring neon foil and some cheeky lines. Paper Plane’s Mixed Messages age range is another recent launch, now with ages right up to 100, after feedback from buyers said they found it hard to find funny cards for big landmark birthdays.

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