focus on progressive humour may 2015

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From Shakespeare to Carry On,pantomime to Monty Python,British humour has a longlegacy. In fact, early cavedrawings probably depicted thefunny side of hunting andgathering… and that newfangled invention called ‘fire’.

Us Brits have always foundthe lighter view in almost everydark situation. We have theability to laugh at ourselves andat tough circumstances, butwe’re just as ready with quick-witted quips and satiricalmockery for authority and aremore than likely to tease ourfriends; a compliment is usuallysarcastic, but it’s a sign ofaffection to Brits!

And our love of toilethumour and sexual innuendoare engrained into the Britishpsyche; years and years ofsniggering at words like ‘bum’,‘fart’ and smutty suggestionshow no signs of going downthe pan! You only need tolook at the popularity of The Inbetweenersand Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice to flush outany further proof. And all this of course isechoed on the myriad of humorous carddesigns on the themes of self-deprecation,

ribbing and joshing, irony andtittering at naughty words.

Reinforcing theimportance of the ‘funnybusiness’ to retailers and cardpublishers, humour cards took

the top spot in the recent PG/Cardgains RetailBarometer once again. For the sixth year insuccession, greeting card indies citedhumorous card sales as accounting for thegreatest growth last year across all the card

genres (compared to the previous year). Thatis a lot of valuable laughs.

Perpetuating the UK public’s hunger forthe available assortment of different comedygenres, there seems to have been moredevelopment in the humorous card sector inthe last year than ever before.

One of the widely accepted drivers of thishumour explosion is the evolvement of socialmedia, be it through Instagram, Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and of course YouTube. Andthen there are memes - where an idea, photo,video or catchphrase can spread rapidly byinternet users. You only need to consider TheIce Bucket Challenge phenomenon which sweptacross the globe via the internet to see how

HUMOUR OVERVIEW

A Cracking ComedyLine-Up

Contents5-9 Overview13-14 Situational Comedy18-19 20 Years Of Humour21-23 New Launches26-27 Retailer Feedback

Focus On Humour is published annually by Max Publishing(publishers of Progressive Greetings). It is distributed with theMay edition of Progressive Greetings.Max Publishing, United House, North Road, London, N7 9DP Tel: 020 7700 6740 www.progressivegreetings.co.ukEditor in chief: Jacqueline Brown

([email protected])Main contributor and Gale Astley Deputy editor: ([email protected]) Advertisement director: Warren Lomax

([email protected])

Taking to the comedy stage, Focus On Humour goes ontour to discover the abundance of news and happeningson the humorous greeting card front.

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 5

Top: Combining musical comedy andslapstick, pantomimes are still aspopular today as in its 16th centuryroots.Above left: Teasing our friends is a signof affection to Brits - A card from DeanMorris.Above right: A Kiss Me Kwik Ladybirddesign.Left: Jolly Awesome is one of the newgeneration of humour card publisherswho is up to speed with online trending.

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Tel: 01992 702900 Email: [email protected] www.danilo.com

Come and see

us at PG LIVE

Stand 513

JUNE 2nd & 3rd

FOR THE best

selling TV

ranges!

Tune intOpublished by

Is It Art:© All Rights Reserved to BOC Productions Limited 2015. Licensed by Rocket Licensing Ltd. / © 2015 Studio Lambert Limited. All Rights reserved Mr Bean TM and © Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd 2015. All rights reserved. / Family Guy TM & © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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potent and all embracingtechnology has become -allowing users to sharefunny pics, videos and quipsfound from all corners ofthe world.

Humour connects us allaround the planet via theinternet and it tends to be amore intimate humour, afeelgood humour, withgreeting cards very muchdrawing on the opportunityfor this social exchange, withthe multifarious offeringsreaching right acrossdemographics.

For comedic starters,publishing giants UKG andHallmark have both beenstrengthening theirrespective core humour offering.

Behind the door of UKG’s new Humour Lab,within its Dewsbury head office, the HansonWhite team has been ‘testing’ all kinds ofhilarious social media ‘strains’ to discover funnyformulas for its cards. The results being UKG’slargest ever humour launch with 250 newdesigns, first to be seen at next month’s PG Live.

Hallmark too has been gathering comicmaterial by working with a number of rising

UK comedy stars and Twitterati toproduce a range of cards thatshowcases some of their cleverestgags. And combined with a sizeable 52new Mish Mash designs, Hallmark islaunching its Shoebox alternativehumour brand at PG Live too.

But there are also lots of ‘funnygoings on’ in other areas of thehumour sector.

Paperlink is celebrating ‘threedecades of innovation’ with a plethoraof new humour ranges: Haiku, foundedon the Japanese art of writing non-rhyming verse, the wacky Weird Stuff

Soup range, and tapping the Instagramtrend is the Freddie Says Relax range.

Licensing tie-ups on the (humorous)cards front are on the up too.

US publisher Avanti has just announcedits licensing deal with The Great BritishCard Company who, from now on, willpublish its funny photographic designs.

Meanwhile PG Live sees the launch of alicensing partnership between Gemma and The

London Studio’s award-winning Wisdom of Kidzrange, while Abacus has strengthened itsoffering with a licensing agreement withcartoonist Neil Kerber.

Added to all the activity among theestablished humour players there is also ahealthy new generation of young publishersadding yet more fresh humour concepts anddesign elements to the mix. The humour sectoris experiencing many great changes… and

another stratum has been addedto the Brits’ comedic make-up.

Laughing StockMatt Goodman, Hallmark’s head of creative - Humour, has been busy makinghimself a ‘laughing stock’… He’s been gatheringtogether material from some of the UK’sbrightest rising comedic talents. It was toughon the ribs, not to mention the funny bone,but someone had to do it!

Talking about the Hallmark comedy cardcircuit, Matt explains, “Obviously Hallmark alreadyhas a strong core of humour brands, such as MadAs Cheese, but we wanted to broaden ourhumour portfolio to engage in different channels.”With this in mind, Hallmark is launching Shoebox,a new smart, alternative humour brand.

Left: This design from UKG’s new Critters range isInstagram inspired.Below left: Funny animal pictures are constantlyshared through social media - this new Mish Mashdesign from Hallmark (under its Shoebox brand) showsthe influence it is having on humour cards.Right: Humour company Avanti has signed a licensingdeal with The Great British Card Company.Far right: Deadpan but cute humour from Whale & Bird.

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 7

HUMOUR OVERVIEW

First Funny StepsGraphic Humour, traditionally a supplier to the wholesalesector, is taking its first venture into the Direct To Retail(DTR) market with its Pop-Artz range.

With a cool ‘Pop-Art’ look (hence the name), themodern, square shaped designs are printed in bright neoncolours, making them really stand out, and the razorsharp funny captions also reflect the modern multi-cultural population of the UK.

The cards will be individually wrapped with anenvelope and sold in packs of six of a single design. And all

40 designs will be ready for delivery by late December 2015. Alan Picton, director for Graphic Humour says: “We see Pop-Artz as the humorous cards for

the future… the world is bright… the world is ‘Pop-Artz’!”

Above: A Pop-Artz design from Graphic Humour.

Purr-fect ExposureTalk about coming out of the corner. Anthony Smith’s Learnto Speak Cat cartoons, which appear as a range of greetingcards through Creature Corner (run by Anthony), are set to beput on the international stage through a tie-up with UniversalUclick, the biggest syndication company in the world.

Since the beginning of February, the cartoon has shareda platform with the likes of Peanuts, Garfield and Dilberton GoComics.

"I’m delighted to get this exposure," said Anthony. "It’sespecially pleasing to be sharing a platform with some of myall time favourite cartoons and potentially reach a much wider audience.” Above: The Learn To Speak

Cat cartoon.

Word Up!The London Studio has signed an exclusivelicensing agreement with Saffron Cards &Gifts. With the exception of the humorous‘The Wisdom of Kids’ brand, Saffron willnow include all of The London Studios’current ranges of quirky and humorousgreeting cards within its offering.Above: Coaster Cards from The London Studio soon to join the Saffron stable.

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to visit

Cath Tate Cards PG Live

Stand 521 2 – 3 June

Business Design Centre

LondonSee the full range and more at

www.trade.cathtatecards.com

Tel: 0208 671 2166

I MUST NOT FORGET

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With a whole generationembracing social media toshare and express witty quips, jokes and funnypictures, Matt wanted to harness the feel of thiscontent and find a way to capture it on greetingcards. “We are not aiming exclusively at a youngerdemographic with the Shoebox brand, but wedefinitely want this generation to be excited bywhat we’re doing,” he reveals.

One of the innovative new ranges withinShoebox is a collection featuring up-and-comingstand-up comedians and comedy talent. Mattsays: “We contacted a number of agents andmanagement companies and we generally foundmost were very open to the idea of working on agreeting card collaboration with us.”

So to name but a few of thecontributors, award winningcomedian Joe Borr, musician andfunny man Mark Felgate as well aspopular comedic tweeters Twitflupand Sixth Form Poet worked withMatt to create some punchy one-

liners for the range. “Materialfrom Twitter is kind of perfectfor cards,” Matt highlights,“because the number of wordsthat can be used in a tweet is

restricted, and tweets need to be funny andsnappy to get noticed in the first place.”

Each of the 24 new designs is devoted to adifferent one-liner, and the comedianresponsible for the joke is promoted on theback with a photo and info about their website,Facebook page or Twitter feed.

In addition to all this new content,Hallmark’s Mish Mash alternative humour range- launched last year - will be joining Hallmark’sShoebox stable, and is positioned to keeppeople LOLing in the aisles with 52 new designs.

The Shoebox brand will be set to ‘take themike’ at PG Live in June for all to see.

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 9

HUMOUR OVERVIEW

NIBS● You'll probably all recognise this eye-catchinghumour card from UKG’s RPG range. Well, strikinga ‘bum note’, UKG’s Jennie Sutton’s boyfriendreceived this card… and then reenacted the scene!Taking it one step further,he then made the‘personalised’ pic into acard to send to Jennie’sgrandma for Mother’s Day.

● An accomplished musician in his spare time, Phil Williams has beenappointed area sales manager by Harrogate based card and gift companyPeartree Heybridge.

“We are delighted Phil has joined our team,” says sales director JohnPartridge. “His considerable experience in our industry will help us provide afirst class service to our retailer customers in Kent, Surrey and Sussex”.

Abacus Signs Private Eye CartoonistAbacus Cards has recently signed up Neil Kerber, a regularcartoonist for Private Eye and the Daily Mirror, to publish anexclusive greeting card range consisting of cartoons from his‘Basically’ series. Featuring cartoons that deal with life’s absurdities,the range contains 14, 5” x 7” format cards and is due to belaunched at the beginning of May.

Neil’s drawing style has been described as cute, warm, sillyand at times weird - while his jokes have been known to bring ona full belly laugh to the reader.

Commenting on the signing, Bev Cunningham, creativedirector at Abacus Cards, says: “Neil’s Basically range is a terrificaddition to our humour offering and although we are kicking offwith 14 designs, initially to test the market, we are confident this range willgrow quite rapidly; Neil certainly has lots more material.”

Left: Comedians and comedic tweeters turnedout some great gags for some of Hallmark’snew designs for its new Shoebox brand. Eachcomedian’s details are on the back of the cards.

J O E B O R

Joe is a film-maker and an award-winning comedian who performs

across the UK as himself and as mountaineer Jasper Cromwell Jones.

Twitter: @josephbor

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Above: Abacus has signed upwell-known Private Eyecartoonist Neil Kerber.

The Screen SceneSome of the biggest and most popularcomedy shows currently on the UK’s TVare part of Danilo Promotion’s humourcard offering - which ‘viewers’ can see atthis June’s PG Live.

Trevor Jones, licensing director for Danilo,‘reviews’ the best of the UK’s screen scene.

● Mrs Brown’s Boys tops the sitcom ratings onBBC1, with Christmas specials commissioned fora further five years, a movie that was number 1at the box office and even a massive arena livetour this year. She is without doubt the UK’sfavourite Mammy!

● Movies: The funniest and cutest yellowcharacters in the high street are the Minions, andDanilo is releasing a new range to coincide withthe summer movie release. The range includesage, relations and sound cards, plus giftwrapdesigns, so there is something for everyone tomake them giggle!

● Keith Lemon continues to appear in a numberof shows, including Celebrity Juice, Through theKeyhole and the Keith Lemon Sketch Show. Allof them are top rating shows that have built ahuge following of fans who just can't get enoughof his style of comedy even if it can be a bitnaughty at times!

● The Big Bang Theory has made being nerdycool, and it has a massive audience who revel inthe geeky style humour.

● Family Guy and American Dad are animatedTV hits from BBC3, with new episodes beingadded and a new broadcast on ITV 2 later thisyear for Family Guy too.

● Modern Family is on Sky with hilarious tales ofthe dysfunctional American family.

● Only Fools and Horses is the ageless classicfeaturing Rodney and Del Boy that appeals to thewhole family.

● Tommy Cooper remains as popular as ever.Our cards continue to sell… just like that!

● Mr Bean celebrates 25 years of TV this yearand Danilo are releasing a new card range tocelebrate. He was recently seen in his first newepisode on TV as part of Comic Relief.

Above left: The Big Bang Theory on a card from Danilo.Above right: The Minions will be back this summer with ablockbuster movie. A card from Danilo.

Far left: UKG’s Jennie Sutton’s boyfriend replicated this hilariousand memorable scene on one of UKG’s RPG cards. Left: Musician and Peartree Heybridge area sales manager, Phil Williams.

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And now forsomethingcompletelydifferent...

Come & see these lovely cardsat PG LIVE on Stand 416

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...THE SHOEBOX COLLECTION

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W e a r e r a i s i n g t h e c u r t a i n o na u n i q u e n e w c a r d c o l l e c t i o n ,a s p a r t o f o u r S h o e b o x r a n g e .

P e o p l e l o v e s t a n d - u p , s o w e ’ v eb u i l t t h e c o l l e c t i o n w o r k i n gw i t h o u r c o m e d y c o n n e c t i o n s .

2 4 d e s i g n s , s i m p l y d e s i g n e d t oe n s u r e t h e j o k e t a k e s c e n t r e s t a g e .

C o m e a n d h a v e a c h u c k l e o nS t a n d 4 1 6 a t P G L i v e

S I X T H F O R M P O E T

T W I T F L U P

J O E B O R

R I A L I N A

J E R E M Y O ’ D O N N E L L

M A R K F E L G A T E

P U T T I N G N E W C O M E D Y I N T H E S P O T L I G H T

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Originally devised for radio, and transferredto television in 1956, Hancock’s Half Hour isdeemed as the first great British sitcom. Infact many sitcoms and comedy sketchshows start life as audio form for the BBC,moving on to television, programmes - thelikes of Goodness Gracious Me and LittleBritain began life on the airwaves.

Throughout the 1970s and 80ssitcoms flourished, with much lovedfavourites such as George and Mildred,Desmond’s, Keeping Up Appearances andDad’s Army, to name but a few, promptingaudiences to shriek, chuckle and snort. And stillmaking us giggle today, situational comedyremains a popular form of entertainment on ourscreens as the top TV billing of Mrs Brown’s Boysand Miranda on Christmas Day last year shows.

The reason why we love sitcoms is becausewe can relate to the daft and funnycircumstances the characters get themselvesinto. Situational comedy is based on amusinginsights on everyday life in commonplacesettings, such as at home or work, and beingprimarily a visual beast, it is a perfect vehiclefor humour on greeting cards.

“Situational comedyworks on cards, in thesame way it has alwaysappealed in TV comedyshows, people find it

amusing to see their own lives reflected back tothem, even if it is often a more extremeversion,” says Bev Cunningham, creativedirector for Abacus. Bev explains that a designin Abacus’ Frank by Namerange, which shows an oldercouple looking frustrated at acomputer and is captioned‘There was nothing for it -they’d just have to wait untilthe grandchildren’s next visited’has been extremely popularbecause it is a situation thatrings true with so many. She

says, “I also predict that another oneof the new Frank cards will also be abig hit as it will strike a chord withquite a few people. The card shows abored looking couple in bed drinkingtea looking straight ahead and iscaptioned ‘That awkward momentwhen the tablets need charging!’”

In its heart, situational comedyreflects universal human limitationsand shortcomings, collective flaws thatwe can identify with. Those times when

overwhelmed and frustrated by how to workthe computer we start reaching for the wine, orbuying strange things on Ebay that we later regrethas happened to many others too. It’s a momentwe can share, connect and laugh about.

“Depicting everyday life, sometimes justas it is, sometimes adding elements of farceand slapstick, you are essentially takingsituations you know and understand and

having a giggle about them,” states DanielaDi-Benedetto, art editor for Paperlink, whobelieves situational humour works well forgreeting cards because cards are all aboutmaking instant connections between thebuyer and the recipient. “The reaction to thecard could be either `that’s us that is` or `thatcould be you.’”

And Paperlink has a wide variety of sitcomstyle card designs, showing different everydaycircumstances, reaching across the generationsand the sexes: “Our Kook card (pictured) pays

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 13

SITUATIONAL HUMOUR

FunnySitcoms are now established as a main staple ofour television entertainment, with programmessuch as The Office, Black Adder and more recentlyThe Big Bang Theory becoming screen must sees.And situational comedy on cards too are deeplyensconced in the humour sector.

PG takes a look at this funny scenario.

Circumstances

Below: Popular American sitcomDiff’rent Strokes’ first episode was in1978, it lasted eight years.Below left: Modern tablets, not pills,assist a long-lasting marriage on anAbacus’ Frank By Name design.Below middle: A retirement card fromBuddy Fernandez.Below right: A regular check up withan irregular heartbeat - a design fromRedback Cards.Bottom left: Gardening is a primesituation for gags - a card fromCountry Cards.Bottom right: New parents willempathise with this situation on adesign from Rainbow Cards (Ling).

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homage to close friendships as we see a much-loved, bonkers mate shows up in a crisis. On our‘Dinner Party Years’ design it mocks the use ofnew age therapies for the relief of everydaystress, suggesting we are more likely to chugback vodka. Another design illustrates a smallchild having to explain to a parent howtechnology actually works. And one of ourBottom Line designs takes a look at asupposedly `cool` workplace, the ironybeing that nobody actually really knowswhat they are doing!” laughs Daniela.

Nigel Holdsworth, director forCountry Cards, believes one of the keysof publishing humorous cards is to have abroad range of designs that people canrelate to, in particular featuring situationscustomers might recognise or rememberfrom their past. “We have a number of cardsthat fit everyday situations, from gardening todogs behaving badly, farm animals up to nogood, alcohol, diet and weight problems,” hesays, adding: “We are always on the look outfor ideas we can give to cartoonists, but it isimportant not to lose sight of why would acustomer buy a particular humorous card tosend to someone. You have a head start if it relates to an everyday incident that has happened to them or someonethey know.”

So, if situational comedy on cards isbased on characters like you and me,centered around a commonenvironment and taking on the smalleveryday things that make up the stuffof life, there is a wealth of inspiration tochoose from for humorous card designs!

Lee Rowlett, who calls himself‘deputy head of muffins’ for BuddyFernandez, says pretty much all of thepublisher’s cards feature situational comedy thathappens all the time, even if people don’tnormally like to admit it. “Who hasn’t grabbed acrap card at the garage on the way to a party orbirthday shindig? Or wandered into a card shopand picked the first one they saw. And when itcomes to having babies, let’s be honest, some ofthem can be cute, but the sex is likely to dry up

for the parents andanything like propersleep is right out thewindow.” Lee reveals, forexample, how some ofour cards came about was when his mate Andycongratulated his dad on his retirement, andpromptly reminded him not to spend all hismoney on enjoying himself, because he’scounting on a decent inheritance. “Another was

when we were onlyinvited to the receptionof a good friend’swedding. We knew there was a card inthat, hence the card caption, ‘Wewould’ve got you a nicer card... butwe were only invited to the eveningbit’. Firm but fair, and it’s a greatseller!” says Lee.

Masters of common observationsand easily understoodscenarios, cartoonists’humorous perceptions on the dailytasks we carry out have thrived underthe situational humour card banner.

Punch and Telegraph Matt, (onWoodmansterne’s cards), The New Yorker(UKG), Tim Wyatt’s illustrations on theTraces of Nuts range from UKG, Cardmix’s

Off The Leash’s dog cartoons by Rupert Fawcett,and Steve Best of Paperlink’s Bestie fame - andwinner of The Henry Cole Classic Award - arechampion cartoonists whose work has

flourished on situational humour cards.While Rainbow Cards’ The Funny Side ofLife range (a brand now under Ling’s wing)has made us chortle with its sitcom cartooncapers since 1977 and is still going strong.The legendary Bill Kimpton was the firstcontributor with many cartoon mastersfollowing in his wake.

Another well-known cartoonist anddirector for Beverston Press, OliverPreston has found that his situationalcomedy cards have become proven bestsellers. “The closer the joke to people's

real life experiences, themore they love thehumour. Losing one'sglasses, ski accidents, onebottle too many,irreverent girlfriends andwayward children all makefor good topics, and it's awinner if they can seethemselves in the cartoon

(or more usually their family and friends).” Oliver says today's running themes for

Beverston’s cards are iPads and iPhones, growingup with kids and dogs, dogs, dogs! However, byits universal and mutually shared nature,situational humour’s appeal is widespread. Herecounts: “I met a wonderful Scot at a fair inPerthshire, who having surveyed all my greetingcards (and having bought a fistful), said, "Youobviously know the same people as I do."

SITUATIONAL HUMOUR

weight watcherweight watcherweight watcherweight watcher

llautt acom n’Io mot tot gsue jv’I

t, heigwervy olytiitvraavh guco m

Above: Well-loved sitcom The Golden Girls.Above left: An instant female to female connection on aKook design from Paperlink.Far left: During the last eight years of the recession we canall empathise with this Splimple card.Left: Dogs are often treated as one of the family - aBeverston Press card.

14 FOCUS ON HUMOUR

Above left: The problems the older generation havewith computers is highlighted on a RamblingMansion design.Above middle: Frankie Whistle highlights ‘weighty’issues.Above right: This Off The Leash card from Cardmixillustrates today’s modern family.Far left: A work related situation on a Modern Tosscard.Left: The council cracking down on our recyclingmistakes is something we can all relate to. A cardfrom Peartree Heybridge’s Jonathan Pugh range.

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03-04_16-17_24-25_Humour_Supp_May 2015 17/04/2015 16:01

How time flies! This is in fact the 20th edition of PG’s annualFocus on Humour supplement that has been published eachMay since 1996.

PG takes a flick back through the front covers.

A lot has happened in the past two decades since the very first Focus on Humour was published,shining the spotlight on the machinations of humorous cards. For starters, the UK has had four differentPrime Ministers (and may be well welcoming a 5th by the time this edition is published) and theWorldwide Web was just a glimmer in a few scientists’ eyes and PG’s Warren still had some hair then!

But just like England’s national soccer team’s perennial failure in the finals of major tournaments, some things have, on the surface at least, not changed that much. The front cover of every one of the 20 issues of the PG Humour supplement thus far has featured anadvertisement from the ultimate humour specialist Emotional Rescue. Trends in greeting card humour have come and gone, but Emotional Rescue has always remained at the forefront, skilfully adapting its much-loved brands to ever changing times.

These front covers in themselves tell a story, not least how EMO (as the company is affectionately known) has adapted incredibly strong and long lasting brands to reflect cultural changes and even industry events. PG features some of the most memorable.

18 FOCUS ON HUMOUR

COVERING IT ALL

The First1996 - EMO’s front cover of the first PG Humoursupplement and featured On the Ceiling’s takeon the first publication. On the Ceiling was arelatively new brand then and went on toscoop two awards at the first Henries eventheld later in the year in October. The brand isstill going strong and has won countlessHenries awards since, including The Henry ColeClassic award in 2008.

Buy, Buy and Buy!1998 and the late 1990s saw a period of manypublishing acquisitions by the two major US ownedgreeting card publishing giants, Hallmark andAmerican Greetings. Here once again EMO usedthe vehicle of the front cover and the ‘voice’ ofOn the Ceiling via the Humour supplement tospeculate on Carlton Cards’ (now UKG) intentions!

Whazz-Upp?2002 - Today we tend to take Photoshopand digital computer manipulation forgranted, but back in 2002 EmotionalRescue’s Virtual Safari brand was one ofthe first successful greeting card ranges tomake the most of it in the humorousgreeting card arena. Showing just howquickly popular phrases move in and outof fashion, EMO picked–up on the nowalmost forgotten, but at the time thehugely popular yet annoying catchphrase,Whazz-Upp?!!

EmotionalYears20

Inset: It’s been an emotional 20 years - An Onthe Ceiling card from Emotional Rescue.

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You Can’t Chav It All2005 - EMO used On the Ceiling once againas a vehicle to poke fun at what was then anew emerging social stereotype - the Chav!

You Naughty Boy2008 - And yet another term enters the Englishdictionary, the ASBO. This acronym, like ‘Whazz-Upp?’ and ‘the Chav’, has now become an oldcliché of the Tony Blair years, but at the time itwas new into popular usage.

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 19

Show Time2009 - EMO returned to an industry event forthis year. Using ‘On the Ceiling’, it heralded thefirst ever PG Live exhibition.

COVERING IT ALL

Driving On2010 - By 2010 the Internet was an all pervasivepart of our lives and the annoying ads for variouswebsites were omnipresent in all media. That year,

it was the robotic and ubiquitous ‘We Buy Any Car’ advert of the time that wasmercilessly lampooned EMO style, through one of its other stalwart brands, Odd Squad.

A Right Royal Occasion2012 - Having poked fun at Chavs and ASBOs, ‘HerMaj’ received the On the Ceiling treatment on theoccasion of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

The Present2015 - This year EMO is going all nostalgic as itcommemorates the 20th milestone of the PGHumour supplement, celebrating the company’sappearance on the outside front cover on everyone of them.

It will be intriguing too see what those wittyboys and girls at EMO will come up with in thenext 20 years?

You Never Had It So Good2006 - The longest economicdownturn in recent UK history hasperhaps made us look back at the‘Noughties’ with rose-tintedspectacles. But even in the so-called‘Boom Years’, there were seriousconcerns about the state of the UKgreeting card economy.

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20_Humour Supp_May 2015 23/04/2015 11:10

NEW HUMOUR RELEASES

● Ten new designs join Abacus’ Frank byName humour range, and like theexisting designs they all featurecaptioned, spot coloured retro, blackand white photographic imagery.Additionally, the publisher has launcheda sister (or rather a brother) humourrange called Happy as Larry featuring5”x7” cards with captioned retrophotographic imagery, carefully hand-coloured and printed on smooth board.

● Cath Tate Cards is very excited to beintroducing into the UK market a new range of cards from the cartoonistMichael Leunig from Australia. Declared an ‘Australian living treasure’ by

the National Trust of Australia, hisquirky, thoughtful cartoons have beenappearing for years in the SydneyMorning Herald and the Melbourne Age.His wry look at life covers topics suchas love, life, happiness and silliness andthe joys of washing the dishes. All willbe revealed at PG Live on stand 521.

● Buddy Fernadez launched its newSpring/Summer 2015 range at SpringFair, adding a horde of fresh designs.The publisher says: “For the first timewe’ve dipped our dirty toes into the

age-specific market, and we’ve got all emotional with some sympathycards too.“ The ages covered are 18, 21, 30, 40, 50 and 60, and in total thenew range features 37 new designs, including new Valentine’s, pet,sympathy and housewarming cards.

● As self-confessed typographyaddicts, Brainbox Candy has delvedinto its hallowed ‘Wood Type’ drawer.After a few hours of fiddling about itunveiled a brand new humour range,Typetastic. With the exception of theletter 'P' (that was missing, howeverquickly carved from an old oak tree’sknuckle by the multi-talented andchampion whittler Mark Williams), ahighly tactile and nostalgic range ofcontemporary humour cards, giftwrap

and notebooks was born. View the whole range atwww.brainboxcandy.com innit.

● Country Cards has just published 16new humour cards in its ever-expandingCountry Humour range. A number of well-known cartoonists are working with thepublisher, including Tony Husband, LeeFearnley and Royston Robertson (imageshown) among others, which gives therange great variety. The ‘clean’ humourhas strong appeal and connects well withmost ‘middle’ market customers.

● Launching this May, Hallmark’s ‘half-baked’ range presents topical jokes in asimple text-led format which makes themperfect for every occasion. The simple andbold designs really stand out on thefixtures, offering something really fun andcontemporary. These four craft designscome individually packaged with akingfisher blue envelope and retail at £1.69.

● Hazel Bee’s 2015 range of 8 new carddesigns features owls, naked dancing,

arguing butterflies, hairs of dogs andbirthday fossils. All the cards are blankinside and supplied with a C6 craftbrown envelope, and are 100% recycled,biodegradable, compostable, UK madeand fair trade. Available fromwww.hazelbee.co.uk.

● Publisher Ohh Deer has added newhumour designs from three fantastic

illustrators: David Olenick's art is inspired byanxiety, embarrassment, character flaws andprofanity; Gemma Correll is a serial punnerwith a crush on all things cartooney. Herfavourite colour is turquoise, her star sign isAquarius and her favourite word‘Albuquerque’, just in case you werewondering; and Jaco Haasbroek is anillustrator from Cape Town. His illustrationsare will turn your frown upside down andhave you clutching your sides with laughter.

Making them laugh in the aisles, a comediccrowd of new humour card ranges.

Raising AGiggle

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 21

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FOCUS ON HUMOUR 23

NEW HUMOUR RELEASES

● With 12 new greeting card designlaunched in April, Modern Toss’ Workrange of office-based greeting cards coverevery aspect of life in the modernworkplace, from interviews to HRnegotiations, procrastination on a Fridayafternoon to turning up drunk on aMonday morning… Whether you’ve got ajob or are just sitting around thinkingabout getting one, there’s a Work cartoonto sum up your work life.

● Oliver Preston is launching newgreeting cards at PG Live to add to itsrange. In summer themes, the designsare quirky and topical, featuring a bitof town and country, but always funny.Vivien Preston says, "There is a greatfollowing for Oliver's cards, andbesides these new ones he is alsoworking on a new book, The ImperfectShot, and we have just launchedpolitical playing cards. They are a lotof fun - but also very lucrative - wesold out in 2010!"

● In honour of its`three decades ofinnovation` celebrations (yes, Paperlink is30!) it has created three very innovativenew humour ranges. The first, Haiku, isquirkily cute and based around theJapanese art of writing non-rhyming verse.Haiku combines naïve artwork with zingycolour. At the other end of the spectrum isthe wacky Weird Stuff Soup collection.Weird Stuff Soup is a mix of surreal,random true facts, crazy thoughts and oddlittle jokes. And finally, tapping into the

Instagram trend, there is Freddie Says Relax. `In your face`photographs with `in your face` statements.

● Really Good has added a fresh andfabulous new range of everyday greetingcards created by illustrator of all things bigfaced and furry, Casey Rogers. Thecollection mirrors her fascination withanimals, capturing their personalities withhumour, quirkiness and colour. Created withCasey’s unique blend of mark making, colour

and computertechnology, each vibrant illustration isfeatured alongside striking text, producing afantastical sense of fun.

● Launching soon is Pigment’s fab newrange Ministry of Chaps. Drawing oninfluences from the world of industrial andurban warning signs, Ministry of Chapsfeatures styling reminiscent of old andworn-out government information posters.

This brand new collection covers some favourite greeting card topicsand throws in a few brand new ones for good measure. Each designdisplays sharp insights into the things that really matter to officiallybrilliant blokes.

● Firmly anchored in absurdity, TheArgyle Sweater from RedbackCards presents a surreal, hilariousand punny view of the world welive in. The range features dogs,porcupines, cops, bears, zebras,cavemen, mummies, prawns, cowsand the occasional evil scientist.Funny, irreverent and smart, TheArgyle Sweater collection hassomething for people of all ages.

● Splimple has always been strong onwords - but for its new Nuff Said rangeit wanted a look that was as fresh asthe copy, so it turned to FalmouthUniversity, which every year turns outsome of Britain’s most accomplishedgraphic designers. Second yearundergraduate Matt Caldwell created abrand new typeface for Splimple’smost minimalist range ever, whichfeatures on 18 designs, using gloss and mattvarnishes and bright colours.

Splimple has also updated its popular Cheap & Miserable range, withthe topical British and Brokeish - this time having a good old grumbleabout the age of austerity we’re all enduring!

● Have you ever been irritated bythe pretentious coffee culture,bearded hipsters, flowery winebottle blurbs, tedious small talk,unreliable technology or vacuous,unhelpful sales staff? Then meetAgnes, (new from Hanson White)your new kindred spirit! A littlelady with bags of attitude and afringe that can stop traffic, she'snot afraid to say the things that

everyone would like to say but daren't! Brace yourself for some straighttalking and a barrel-load of belly laughs – Agnes is in town and she's nottaking any prisoners!

● Urban Graphic is excited toannounce the launch of its brandnew humour range, a selection of 12cards from Canadian cartoonistJohn Atkinson. The range is calledWrong Hands and is mainly basedaround ‘play on words’ jokes.Interesting fact: the range is calledWrong Hands because JohnAtkinson is actually left-handed buthe draws his cartoons with his righthand (with a little help from his Mac computer and mouse!).

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RETAILER FEEDBACK

26 FOCUS ON HUMOUR

PG discovers what humorous card ranges are currently creatinga comedic stir in indie card retailers’ stores.

Giles Meehan, senior buyer for The Card Centre, Felixstowe:“Humour cards are selling better than ever, as people always want something to laugh about. We arefinding a more subtle, drier sense of humour is becoming more popular, although classic ranges and

cartoons are still well-loved. Some of our many best sellersinclude Woodmansterne's Matt and Punch cartoons andGenius exam answers, Cath Tate's cheeky Photocaptions, andthe fresh and witty Harold's Planet range from ClareMaddicott, such as its design captioned, 'How to avoidrunning injuries... walk!'

Another of our favourites are the unique and inventivecaptions of Whale and Bird, eg 'Let's pretend this card isperfect for whatever just happened!'

Older customers still love the gentler (but no lessfunny!) humour of Ling's Rainbow Cards’ cartoons andSplimple's Alison's Animals, and the 'reincarnated cards' also from Splimple have proved popular with ayounger market.”

Left: Whale & Bird creates cute humour cards.

Comedy Stores

Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co, Malvern:“Humour is a subjective matter. And there liesthe dilemma. Do you stock what you think isfunny, what we're told is funny, or work outwhat your customers think is funny?

We look at our suppliers of non-humourcards and see what humorous offer they have aswe know we have some kind of design fitalready. For example, Urban Graphic's Toastedrange has contemporary illustration andgraphics, but is humorous too. It’s ‘WatershipDowner’ card with its humour and languagemay not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is thebiggest selling card in the shop, across all ages.

Age isn't a barrier to what sells. Our moremature customers who grew up with theunpolitically correct comedy of the 1970s seemfar less phased. Ranges that feature punnery(the Etched range by Pigment) or taking theMichael out of age (eg the Make a Statementrange by Megan Claire and designs byDandelion Stationery).

For me personally, whose informative yearswere spent watching The Young Ones, sarcasmis my humour of choice and Buddy Fernandez's‘cards that say it like it is’ have become newfavourites of both mine and my customers.”Top: Urban Graphic’s well-loved Watership Downer card.Above: Panic! Is what this Megan Claire ‘Make A Statement’ cardis jokingly saying.

Ian Thomas, owner of Absolute Cards, Wells:“As a shop around 20% of our own published cards(called Rambling Mansion) account for sales, but not allof them are humour designs. The Keyboard Commandsrange of computer humour - which takes a comediclook at the problems the aging population have withgetting to grips with IT - is popular, not only becausethe card can be an in-joke between mature friends butalso their grandchildren can gently tease theirgrandparents about their inability with using computers.

Quentin Blake’s illustrations on Woodmansterne’scards is an evergreen range for us. And Paperlink’sranges, such as Bestie and Wrinklies, are our staplediet when it comes to humour. In my opinion, I believethe company comes up with some of the best humour cards on the market. As a publisher I am

very envious of what they produce, and as a retailerthey keep coming out with new ranges and we keeploading and reloading the Paperlink spinner in the shop.

Another fairly new company called Jelly n Beanhas a good humour range called Chorley Knot. Acouple of great designs that instantly come to mind(ideal for men) within the collection are a card thatfeatures Charlie Chaplin with the caption ‘You’re howold… Well I’m speechless!’, and another that featuresthe police officers from an old classic TV show calledCar 54 Where Are You?”Above: Gently jesting those who have trouble with computers, aRambling Mansion’s Keyboard Commands design.Left: The two main characters from the vintage TV programme Car 54Where Are You? feature on this card from Jelly n Bean.

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Maureen and Tom O’Connell, owners ofJust Cards, St Ives, Cambridgeshire:“We dabbled before Christmas with some of Pigment’shumour ranges, which went down well with our customers, sowe decided to add a few more. Now we have the publisher’sRiff Raff, Midget Gems, Pinot Grigio, Fleet Street and OohLa La! collections. More aimed at the middle-aged, some ofthe cards’ jokes are cheeky, but not too naughty.

We’ve also had a spinner of Brainbox Candy designs infor a year now. We thought we’d give the cards a go, andthey have been ticking over nicely. We don’t have too many

with the rude words on,but we do have a fewdesigns from itsProfunnity (18+) range.

A range that always sells for us is Eric The Penguin fromPaper House (GBCC). The publisher keeps updating thedesigns with fresh illustrations showing the funny side oftopical happenings, and the cards are great for teenagers too.

Histericals, also from Paper House, is a humour rangeaimed at men. It’s fairly new but it’s very good.

And of course, the Spike Milligan range fromWoodmansterne is surreal, but a classic.”Above: Profunnity, as the name suggests, is a naughty and swear words range fromBrainbox Candy.Left: Great humour for men, the Histericals range from Paper House (GBCC).

RETAILER FEEDBACK

Leah Munro, manager of Clocktower Cards, Lerwick, Shetlands:“We’ve had Hanson White’s (UKG) Giggles range for a longtime, but customers just keep on buying it. It’s a large rangewith a big mix of different designs that there is somethingfor everyone. The RPG range, also from UKG, is a bit morerisqué with its jokes but it appeals to both young andolder people.

Say Cheese is another UKG collection that focusesmainly on the problems of getting older. We find that,although we have a variety of customers who come intothe shop, as part of the store is a post office, some of themature population of the town come in to collect theirpension… and will pick up a card or two at the same time.

When it comes to humour cards for us, UKG reallyhits the target. Its ranges are slightly different and theyseem to work.”Left: The positives of exercise on a Say Cheese design from UKG.

Mark Janson-Smith, managingdirector for Postmark, Balham,Dulwich and Turnham Green Terrace:“Our best-selling humour ranges at the moment areA Colourful Mind by Paperlink and Rock On byThe Art File. Colourful Minds is a little quirky butreally hits the spot, whereas Rock On just hassome great simple one-liners, beautifully produced.Both ranges stay away from the clichéd jokes andreally offer a fresh clean take on the simple butamusing things in life.

Alice Scott fromPigment continues to do well. It isn’tnecessarily a‘humour’ range buthas some blindingcaptions that makeus laugh and sellreally well.

One of ourmost popular lineswith our maturecustomers is The Great House Wives of Art by BlueIsland Press. Each one is a take on a classic paintingwith the artist’s wife as the topic. It’s a very cleverand original range, and one we are huge fans oftoo. This is closely followed by Frankie Whistle’ssimple cards, but with jokes our customers love.

Ohh Deer produces some fantastic cards forthe younger generation and we are also veryexcited about a new range due in any day nowfrom publisher Jolly Awesome. An edgy, urbanrange, we expect to be a huge hit with ouryounger, trendier customers. Some of them are just genius and we just know they are going to fly.

When it comes to volume sales, humour isalways by far the best for us. The struggle is findingnew and refreshing humour all the time. We stayaway from clichéd and crass humour cards and tryand find witty observational designs. They arealways the best and always brings my favouritesound to the shop - a snort and a snigger from acustomer who just couldn’t keep it in!”

Left: Unicorns areso yesterday. AJolly Awesome carddesign.Below: Blue IslandPress’ The GreatHouse Wives of Artrange featureswell-known artists’‘wives’.

FOCUS ON HUMOUR 27

Glen Everton, owner of The Card Cottage,Ashby-De-La-Zouch:“We seem to have tried every publisher’s humour range, but wealways come back to UKG’s Giggles. We are located in a smallmarket town but with so many designs in the range there areenough for everyone’s humour tastes.

We also stock UKG’s Recycled Paper Greetings range, Outof the Ark and Traces of Nuts. The latter has been out a fewyears now, but we review the collection every December and itcontinues to be a good seller as the range keeps gettingrefreshed with additional designs.

Personally, what I find funny at the moment is a TVprogramme on Sky called Moone Boy. It is about a 12 year-oldboy and his imaginary friend (played by Chris O’Dowd). And Icould spend a whole night in front of the laptop watching OnlyFools And Horses, it’s comedy gold.”

Above: A social faux par on aTraces of Nuts card by UKG.

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focus on progressive humour may 2015

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