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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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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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.