Progressive Humour 2023

Funny Business

Humour is how humans manage many situations, and the sheer breadth of the funny cards on offer only serves to back this up. With humorous cards once again topping the charts for greeting card retailers in the recent PG Retail Barometer as the card category that grew the most in the last year, PG’s 2023 Focus On… Humour Cards adds to the giggle.

Empire of the pun

Dad jokes are simply pun-derful – that’s the conclusion of the latest research which took a decidedly different look at the subject of jokey word-play.

While most successful attempts at humour are met with laughter or smiles, an exception is found in puns which are often met with groans, a reaction which seems distinctly negative and indicative of anguish, according to Cody Gibson and Professor Brad J Sagarin.

The pair, from Northern Illinois University in the US, made the connection with everyday sadism, a personality trait where an individual finds enjoyment in the suffering of others, and conducted two studies to investigate punning as a form of this.

However the research – Pun-intentionally sadistic: Is punning a manifestation of everyday sadism?, which has been published in Personality And Individual Differences, an Elsevier journal – appears to have concluded that the opposite may well be true.

The team surveyed almost 300 people about their joke preferences, both as givers and receivers, and also used personality tests, to assess the degree of sadism.

Pun-tellers were not sadistic, it found, while pun-receivers were, it transpired, grateful, with puns among the most popular jokes. This meant that while people might feign the response “what have I pun to deserve this?” and make sounds indicative of physical pain, inside they were chuckling.

"We were shocked to find people liked puns to the extent they did.” said Cody. “Out of almost 10 types of jokes, puns and observational jokes were the most enjoyed.”

This surprised him as both a scientist and a pun-teller. “I'm not sure I've ever seen a pun receive a reaction stronger than a chuckle, but maybe that suggests more about me than puns”.

One reviewer of the research even went so far as to suggest that given the surprising findings, the hypothesis could be the wrong way round, it's not that pun-tellers are sadists, but that pun-receivers are masochists.

The research explains that some jokes seemed to be enjoyed and made by over 90% of participants, such as puns and observational humour, while more than half avoided scatological jokes and insult humour which were found to be divisive and negative, showing relationships with everyday sadism.

The study concludes that far from the jokes being unwanted, girls – and boys – just want to have pun. A groan, the researchers claimed, is not a bad response, but “indicative of approval”. This was a surprise to the researchers, as Cody explained: “We had many sources denouncing puns as bastards of language and derailers of conversation, so we assumed punsters could cause aggravation much like internet trolls.”

However, having cited various sources showing that puns have been dislked for centuries, the researcher added: “We would like to propose that puns are told for – not despite – pained reactions.”

Mind you, given the sheer number of greeting cards which include a pun, dad joke, or play on words, the industry could have told Cody and Brad all this and they’d have understood it’s time to extend the empire of the pun and acknowledge the humour format is for everyone so make hay while the pun shines!

A million giggles

The right card can give anyone the giggles and 90-year-old Phil Newton’s funny bone was well and truly tickled by the Emotional Rescue card he received for his big day.

The video of Phil crying with laughter at the Pint of Stout card bought from Card Factory went viral, now clocking up almost a million views on Twitter after daughter Sue posted it recently.

“I'd like to say thank you to whoever designed this birthday card,” Sue wrote, “because Dad's reaction is priceless! Made me want to design cards!”

Emotional Rescue’s creative director Jennie Rutter replied “Nothing makes us feel prouder of the work we do than when you see someone laughing at one of your cards.”

Focus On Humour Cards is published by Max Publishing Ltd, publisher of Progressive Greetings Worldwide and Progressive Gifts & Home. It is distributed with the May edition of Progressive Greetings Worldwide.

Editor: Tracey Bearton (traceyb@max-publishing.co.uk);

Editor-in-chief: Jakki Brown (jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk);

Advertisement Director: Warren Lomax (warren@max-publishing.co.uk);

Max Publishing Ltd, United House, North Road, London, N7 9DP www.max-publishing.co.uk

Tel: 020 7700 6740.

Home of The Henries, The Retas and Progressive Greetings Live.

Copyright: 2023

Above: Cody Gibson and Professor Brad J Sargarin researched puns.

Above and above right: Phil’s giggling at this card has gone viral.

Rolling in the aisles

Visitors to PG Live could be rolling in the aisles if the owners of Hammersmith By Stewart Francis and Battered Cards get into their stride – as these publishers are also stand-up comedians!

Known as the king of the one-liners, UKbased Canadian Stewart’s comedy career includes appearances on the Live At The Apollo, The Comedy Store, Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow with his farewell tour Into The Punset, which ended in 2019.

He’s since been concentrating on acting and also turned his attention to the greeting card industry, having won the Dave Joke Of The Fringe Award for his one-liner “You know who really gives kids a bad name? Posh and Becks,” at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival.

While Stewart may have bowed out of the comedy circuit, his new incarnation as a publisher gives another outlet for his one-liners and cartoons, which are all at the printers, and he will be operating a strict no trousers no service policy at the PG Live show.

Stewart said: “Having been called a delusional narcissist too many times, I’m seen here in a recent photo and have decided to quit a lucrative career as a stand-up comedian to become a greeting card publisher. Visit me on Stand 788 to find out why I already regret this decision!”

Meanwhile Battered Cards’ owner Scott Anderson will also be at the greeting card trade show, which runs over Tuesday and Wednesday, 6-7 June, at London’s Business Design Centre, with his hand-drawn and insulting designs on Stand 6.

“I'm a big fan of stand up and, having done it for a few years myself, I try to go to as many gigs as possible,” Scott explained.

“I always head for the front row as well, there's nothing quite as humbling as a room full of people staring at you because the comedian on stage has pointed out your jumper is too tight. Not that that has happened to me, of course.”

Left: Scott Anderson has his own take on Venn diagrams.

Rejected by Lily

The sudden passing of comedy legend Paul O’Grady brought back memories for Laura Kavanagh and John Higgins of Go La La!, who are great fans of the Lily Savage creator.

“We were gutted to hear about his passing,” Laura explained, “particularly as he’d been a customer of ours, buying a stack of cards one Christmas from us, the majority of which were of our Nanty Narking F**king Pony/Santa design.

“We could see straight away how this particular design would appeal to his acerbic sense of humour!

“I’d also had a suspicion of an encounter with him previously, as I used to work for The Body Shop in London in the early 90s and was scouting for a celebrity judge for a hair-styling competition.

“I had various contacts and thought I’d try a number I had for Lily Savage. I spent ages trying to get through and when I finally did, the phone was answered by a very familiar-sounding Scouser...

“I chatted away, not really thinking, and explained the event I was hoping Lily would attend. I was then told, in no uncertain terms that ‘she’d rather eat broken glass’ and ‘what were you thinking’ along with a torrent of other such scathing comments, but all delivered in friendly good humour!

“I put the phone down, somewhat amused and bemused because I strongly suspect that I had been rejected by none other than Lily herself!”

Middle age madness

If you’re suffering from middle age, Dandelion Stationery has a brand-new card collection that’s set to resonate.

The publisher has teamed up with Sarah Stenton who runs the Middle Age Madness Facebook blog with a handy captive audience of 41,000 followers.

Dandelion founder Jo Wilson explained: “She diaries and documents her daily life dealing with life as a middle-aged woman. She has created for us a series of hilarious little poems that we’re putting on to a new range of cards which will definitely resonate with both men and women who are marching through middle age.”

A very proud Sarah, who also recently released a Middle Age Madness book added: “As you may expect, they are not fluffy-wuffy loved-up sentimental cards. I’ve absolutely loved doing these and have tried to produce something that I’d buy for my family and friends instead of sloppy shite.

“If you want to give your friends a giggle for a birthday or special occasion, if they need bit of a cheer up, or if you just want to buy something for your friends because they are so fabulous you'd be lost without them, then these cards will do the trick. We’ve also put together cards for the men in your life, so they don't feel left out.”

Got the t-shirt!

UK Greetings has a new licence with David Olenick that showcases the New York-based illustrator’s simplistic yet attention-grabbing funny designs.

After starting out as a successful t-shirt designer, David found that his illustrations were also a perfect fit for greetings cards.

Just when you think you’ve seen every possible pun on a greetings card, David comes up with a new one!

Below: Pun-tastic cards from David Olenick

Above and right: Paul O’Grady loved this Go La La! design

Above: Sarah Stenton has teamed up with Dandelion for the Middle Age Madness range.

Above: Stewart Francis has gone Into The Punset with greeting cards – and this recent photo.

OHH DEER YOU THINK YOU’RE FUNNY?

CHESTER MINIT

Ohh Deer have recently begun work on a new cure for the chronically unamused. Code-named the ‘Stop tickling me or I might wet myself’ project.

We believe in serious journalism here, none of the fluff you might find in the Financial Times, so I‘m going to put their cards to the test and trust me, this writer is not easy to impress.

Before I start, it’s worth saying that I have only audibly laughed at a greeting card once. In WHSmith at St Pancras in 1994 and that was because someone had put a “I’m so sorry” card next to a half eaten Twix, I just couldnt finish the whole thing.

We’ll start by looking at their Ken the Cat range, which features a particularly nonchalent looking feline.

What’s supposedly funny here is that he hates you and everything you stand for. I don’t find the range funny so much as accurate -if you’re a cat owner you’ll have experienced some of these awful scenarios and you only have your self to blame. That’s what happens when you welcome a terrorist into your home.

Much like my trip to benidorm in 2002, I’m reminded that sometimes you shouldn’t bother.

Not today Satan.

Next we have the Steven Rhodes range, a dark and nostalgic throw back to graphics from the 80’s.

I remember this period fondly...

I’m immediately transported back to the time my neighbour Howard fell awkwardly on a My Little Pony and he had to go to the hospital to have it removed. My sister said the Pony always looked a little sadder after that.

These cards by Ohh Deer feature a twisted outlook and should only be given to those people who share your sense of humour or who you want to put a curse upon. Eitherway, if you’re buying them you should seek professional help.

Weirder than that uncle you weren’t even related to.

In summary: If you're a stockist and wondering whether to buy anything from Ohh Deer, dont. However, I'm obliged to tell you to click on the QR code because they've paid for the tiny ad in the corner.

Ohh Deer have extended the following perks to PG readers:

• 20% off an order

• Order a free sample pack

• No minimum spend

• 48hr turnaround time

• Free next day delivery

PART OF OHH DEER’S CARD RANGE WITH STEVEN RHODES

Hitting the spot

show is a great example of this – I literally had tears rolling down my face when I saw him in Manchester last year.”

New ways of viewing have also caught the imagination as Bewilderbeest’s founder Iain Hamilton is one of those who loves a podcast: “I've been getting thoroughly obsessed with the podcast Three Bean Salad. It's the offbeat ramblings of three comedians who regularly completely lose the thread, plus the bonkers yet catchy jingles they make for different subjects just adds to the comedy.”

Sharon Horgan, Michaela Coel, or Phoebe

Waller-Bridge is always gonna be funny and dark, and that smart comedy is great to see.”

Lucy Nicholson, of Lucy Maggie Designs, is obsessed with Taskmaster and is busy binge-watching the entire collection: “It's such a funny concept for a TV programme and I’m always in hysterics.

“My favourite comedian of all time is Bob Mortimer, but one to watch for 2023 is Joe Lycett, since he has his new late-night comedy show airing this year. Our publishing arm Sunshine Llama released a Lycettthemed card for Mother's Day this year and it was extremely popular!”

While there are those who always search out the new cutting edge humour others still belly laugh at much-loved comedians –particularly with Lily Savage creator Paul O’Grady’s recent sudden demise.

For UKG creative director humour, character & licensing Ben Whittington he thinks it’s “snackable content” that seems to be in the forefront of current comedic output.

Ben said: “Maybe it’s because of the way many platforms are going with Reels etc, but moments of comedic gold are being distilled down and resurfacing through these channels, whether it be the funniest 30 seconds from a chat show episode or standup, or spontaneous moments such as Jennifer Lawrence accidently hitting on Jack Nicholson during an Oscars interview.

“There’s also a lot of referencing back to the pandemic and the absurdity of some of those times from the relative comfort of a post-pandemic setting. Kevin Bridges’ latest

Podcasts tie into the trend Buddy Fernandez’s Lee Rowlett has identified of seeing comedians for themselves rather than as just their stage act, with TV’s Taskmaster an example along with Three Bean Salad again, plus Chattabix and Wolf & Owl.

“And ripping the piss out of Tories being horrific and incapable seems to be very on trend,” Lee laughed. “But that’s almost past the point of funny as they’re so f**king useless and terrifying.

“I think there are a good load of comedies exploring toxic masculinity which is important and can be really funny. Anything by

Now on its 15th series, Taskmaster is also a favourite for Whale & Bird’s Jamie McDonald and his partner Mary, even though they didn’t discover it until during the first lockdown.

“It was the perfect time to be able to binge watch every series that had been on before,” Jamie said, “and now when it’s on TV it’s the highlight of our week! We’re also very fond of Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett’s podcast Parenting Hell which, as expectant parents, has given us quite the insight on what we can expect!”

Above right: Josh Berry does posh caricatures. Right: Kevin Bridges looks back at the pandemic. Far right: Offbeat ramblings from Three Bean Salad.

While some topics, subject matter and words remain perennially funny, much of what people laugh at changes from year to year and 2023 is no exception with comics now able to look back at the absurdities of the pandemic, and modern day popular culture which chimes with many. Here publishers reveal what they think is currently keeping the funny bone rattling…

Above: Sunshine Llama’s Joe Lycett card has sold well.

Above: The late great Lily Savage is loved by many.

Jo Wilson at Dandelion

Stationery is another podcast fan: “I’m currently addicted, I listen to them daily on my dog walks –one of my favourites is the Parenting Hell podcast which often strikes a familiar chord!”

For Lucilla Lavender the toddler days are long gone but the eponymous publisher makes sure she keeps abreast of all the latest funny stuff for her humorous card ranges.

“I listen to a lot of podcasts, such as Parenting Hell – even though my children are nearly grown up, those days are still fresh in the memory, and these guys make me laugh out loud as I listen to them while walking along, doing household chores, or in the car. The humour comes from the interaction between the two of them, which is so fresh, natural and relatable. Subjects such as parent WhatsApp groups, or the trials of bedtime with small children have me in stitches.

“The other podcast I enjoy is What’s Upset You Now? with Seann Walsh and Paul McCaffrey, in which they rant on about the silliest things such as queue barging or the over-use of phones. Sometimes just listening to people laugh uncontrollably can be a tonic in itself.

“I’ve also enjoyed seeing young talented comedians emerge, such as Jonny Weldon bemoaning the trials of developing a career

in acting, and Josh Berry’s posh caricatures, whose unproduced selfie videos are just delightful. Their clever writing shines through, made all the funnier by a deliberate lack of proper props or set design. Josh Berry as a London estate agent trying to sell a wheelie bin as a desirable residence, is a particular favourite.”

Battered Cards’ Scott Anderson, himself a stand-up comic, has found TikTok can have some good points as it brought Australian comedian Luke Kidgell to people’s attention.

Scott added: “He’s just finished a huge UK tour, and was one of the comedians that really rose to fame through TikTok last year. He's one of the only few TikTok creators that doesn't dance in the middle of the road in

What's so funny?

humour that reflects where we are as a society today always seems to go down well with customers and clients.”

The Cath Tate Cards gang has taken the topical theme to heart with account manager Amy Woodrow Arai explaining: “We love Joe Lycett, partly for his support of smaller publishers who struggled after losing out when Paperchase went into administration but also because he’s absolutely hilarious. Love the expletive-ridden garden updates he does on Instagram and his Royal Academy worthy artwork!”

Mean Mail’s Vicky Simmonds said: “It feels like we’ve been living in a dystopian episode of Black Mirror since the pandemic so more things seem funny – either that or we cry right? Laughter is cheap therapy. I love the work of comedians Jordan Firstman, Rob Mayhew and Caitlin Reilly, and @poundlandbandit is also great at pointing out how ridiculous the world is.”

For Thea Musslewhite, Bold & Bright’s owner, anything that gives people a good laugh is grand in the current climate, as she admitted:

“The absurd actor/poet Tim Key makes me laugh. His poems about ants carrying two-litre bottles of cider, and Pinocchio on the dating scene are bizarre, a bit confusing, and very funny. On second thoughts, maybe I’m just weird!”

Iain Hamilton, chief nitwit, Bewilderbeest

Oxford Street so that's always a bonus! But definitely worth him checking out for anyone that loves a bit of audience comedy.”

As a humour editor for UK Greetings, David Best has to keep his finger on the funny bone and is finding topical humour is very popular.

He said: “Social commentary, television shows and riffs on popular culture are all subjects that are ripe for mining when it comes to writing funny greeting cards. Whether it be a witty pun on a famous musician or celebrity’s name or song, or a piece of commentary on the unfathomably quick speeds of Amazon Prime’s delivery service,

“Despite being a regular murder/police drama watcher, it’s nice to have a break and find something humorous. I really enjoyed Bad Sisters this year, a bit of a dark comedy from Sharon Horgan. Another less-mainstream comedy series I enjoyed was called Ten Percent, which was set in an acting agency. I loved it as I used to live in Soho and also worked in an acting agency so it kind of felt like my life back then – a very long time ago!”

Above right: Taskmaster is a favourite.

Right: Parenting Hell is a popular podcast. Far right: Lucilla Lavender loves What’s Upset You Now?

Above left: Poet and Painter’s Lucy and Bryn love titting about.

Above: TikTok spawned Luke Kidgell.

Left: Joe Lycett’s Paperchase stance endeared him to Cath Tate Cards.

Below left: Mean Mail recommend Caitlin Reilly.

As Thea has two teenage children, she is “constantly the butt of the joke! They love nothing more than sneaking silly photos of me and adding horrendous filters. Anyone else with teens I’m sure can relate.

“I regularly go out with local friends for drinks, that’s a great way to cheer ourselves up, and all have little moan and a laugh about the things in our lives. Wine is usually involved!”

Poet and Painter’s Lucy Creed and Bryn Dineen loved comedy-drama Bad Sisters: “Anything written by Sharon Horgan makes us laugh, and for stand-up it would be Kerry Godliman.

“Otherwise, we spend a lot of our time laughing at each other in the studio. Bryn and I have known each other since our art school days 30 years ago and we still make each other laugh pretty much 24/7, either with silly banter or some kind of random punnage which seem to spill out of our mouths.

“If we think we’ve come up with something printable we always run it past lovely Daisy, our studio manager, and if she finds it funny too then it’s a green light. We think we can actually justify titting around as an important part of our creative process, which make us happy as clams.”

Looking at established comedy names, Objectables’ co-owner Tim Gould has introduced his wife Annie to American humourist, comedian and author David Sedaris: “His last series of essays has just finished on Radio 4. I played one in the office and Annie is now fully on board with his dark/light/gentle/harsh humour.”

Ricicle Cards’ David Nichols-Rice confesses to a “very sarcastic” sense of humour, adding: “Straight-faced comedians

like Diane Morgan, who portrays Philomenia Cunk in mockumentary Cunk On Britain, kill me every time. I brought that sarcastic sense of humour into one of my ranges, titled Whimsical. They're tongue-in-cheek and playful, without being offensive.”

Sarah Boddy enjoys watching TV while dreaming up her latest gentle humour cards

What's so funny?

“I always find humour grounded in real world situations hits home the hardest, flashes of wit and or personalities shining through. I really enjoyed Ke Huy Quan’s series of selfies from the award seasons recently. It’s funny to see someone cut through all that pomp and ceremony armed with nothing but an infectious smile and a camera phone!”

Ben Whittington, creative director humour, character &

for Peartree Heybridge and she said: “My go-to feel-good factor is Grace and Frankie – probably because I can identify with that age group as I’m rapidly heading in that direction!”

Dean Morris, founder of the eponymous company reveals: “I’m a really tough nut to crack when it comes to comedy. I’ve been surrounded by friends all laughing at something before now and felt like I must be dead inside as I’m not raising a smile.”

That said, when he saw “a video of a Trump supporter falling off his bike as he rode over a skateboard this morning” he couldn’t stop laughing. “I think I’m weird! If you’re talking classic comedy, it’s got to be I’m Alan Partridge, it’s still sublimely funny,” says Dean.

For Go La La!’s Laura Kavanagh, the Paul O’Grady TV show reruns and old Lily Savage footage are just sublime: “It’s bittersweet as we’ve really felt his loss, he was an absolute comedy genius and all-round nice guy and we loved his passion for animals and animal welfare.”

“One of my favourite programmes of all time is Motherland,” Dandelion’s Jo Wilson said, “and I’ve just recently rewatched it with my daughter – this has to be one of the best programmes ever made. I could watch it again and again and laugh out loud every time.”

At Whale & Bird Jamie McDonald confessed: “I’ve always been into the more surreal side of comedy and I’m of an age that Flight of the Conchords and The Mighty Boosh are two of my all-time favourites –Mary mostly likes it when people fall over!”

And finally, Emotional Rescue’s creative director Jennie Rutter summed up many people’s views on professional comics and people they know: “To be honest, I enjoy most comedians, they all have a different view on life which interests me.

The biggest laugh I get is from our own creative team, they keep me laughing daily with their banter!”

Above right: The Mighty Boosh. Right: Sarah Boddy’s the right age for Grace and Frankie.

Middle: Middle class motherhood in Motherland. Far right: Dean Morris thinks Alan Partridge is sublime.

Above (l to r): Bad Sisters is a dark comedy; Author David Sedaris’ latest book; Cunk On Britain is straight-faced fun; Gentle humour from Quentin Blake.

licensing, UKG

Winning Ways

Winning a Henries greeting card award is a great achievement in itself, and when it’s for brightening people’s lives by making them smile in the humour category, that’s the cherry on the top. Redback Cards took the honours in 2022 for its Zeppelinmoon range, with the other finalists being Forest Fr1ends from Whale & Bird, Bold & Bright’s Jeffrey & Janice Romance, Mine’s A Pint from Emotional Rescue, Woodmansterne Publications’ They Can Talk and Words of Wisdom from Dandelion Stationery. PG enjoys some one liners from these funny finalists.

Daft romance

Following the romantic adventures of a pair of dolls is how Bold & Bright’s Thea Musselwhite landed a Henries’ finalist place as her card characters Jeffrey and Janice show the daftness of relationships.

all kinds of weird and silly little props to use – and often make them if I can’t find them.

“I absolutely love that part, planning the scene for the cards, buying things needed to make the jokes work so expect a lot more silliness coming in time for PG Live!”

Talk to the animals

Above: Bold & Bright’s 2023 Valentine’s bestseller.

“Being a finalist in The Henries has been a great boost for my business,” Thea explained. “Getting your cards in front of all the retailers judging is a brilliant way to lead to potential and actual sales. There may be buyers judging that wouldn’t have otherwise come across you.”

Jeffrey & Janice Romance has always been one of Bold & Bright’s most popular ranges and Thea adds new designs regularly, such as this year’s bestselling Valentine’s card, and earned the publisher its fourth straight finalist place in the humour category.

Having launched two Jeffrey & Janice books, she is currently working on new products to launch at PG Live in June on stand 152. As Thea added: “Doing a trade show is great as it gives me a deadline to work to. When I do my cards, I have to source

Jo’s wisdom pays off

If you’ve ever wondered what your pets are saying, They Can Talk from Woodmansterne is the perfect card collection.

Coming from the pen of US cartoonist Jimmy Craig, he produces illustrations which reflect the conversations he believes animals may have – with brilliant and hilarious results.

Exhibiting at PG Live.

Above: If only they could talk – oh, Woodmansterne’s range makes them.

Dandelion Stationery created the first Words of Wisdom cards in 2014, born from founder Jo Wilson’s desire for a small collection of humorous designs that were occasionally sentimental – and, like Topsy, it’s just grown and grown!

Jo admits: “The collection just seems to have a life of its own. The concept was a simple illustration with the focus always on the contemporary words used in many designs. It’s all about enabling people to send a card, sometimes in situations where the words on the front of the card were key, and these gave the message to the recipient.”

Words of Wisdom was one of the humour finalists in the 2022 Henries but scooped the main prize in the Best Contemporary Words & Sentiment category, much to Jo’s delight.

Dandelion added around 25 new designs to the range in January, which have all been well received, and Jo, who does all her designs on an iPad because “you won't believe the amount of corrections I make to anything I do!”, and her team are working on a further 15 designs to launch at PG Live in June.

Right: A very happy Jo Wilson at The Henries and some of her Words of Wisdom cards.

What’s so funny?

“My four-year-old Óran tells really terrible jokes which are so funny because he doesn’t quite get the concept of a joke so they don’t really make sense. Although he’s got one bona fide one in his repertoire which I think he got from nursery – What did the mouse say when he hurt his teeth? Hard cheese!”

Amy Woodrow Arai, account manager, Cath Tate Cards

A great remedy

Hiding under the stairs and social media are as much a part of the Forest Fr1ends story as the licensing link with Whale & Bird

And the hilariously cheeky woodland critters are full of fun, but Whale & Bird co-owner Jamie McDonald warns customers the very rude range is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

He explained: “Forest Fr1ends is the brainchild of a guy called Paul. He started out by making these silly little scenes with Sylvanian Families figures and giving them some rather rude captions – he then began posting them on to social media where it all blew up.

No-brainer for male offer

Mine’s A Pint is among the latest collaborations between the Emotional Rescue team and Paper Salad co-founders Karen Wilson and Claire Williams which has helped successful humour publisher Emo expand its offer for the male market.

Known for its bright and impactful designs, humour isn’t a genre Paper Salad covers under its own releases but its work translates brilliantly.

“Karen and Claire sent over some great visuals in their initial bunch of artwork,” Emo’s creative director Jennie Rutter explained. “We knew we had a gap in our portfolio for a male-only humour range and, as soon as we saw the artwork, it was a no-brainer!

“It looked fantastic – bright, funny and brilliant – of course they did, they’re from Paper Salad! We immediately got to work on sourcing some great male-only material for the brand.

“Since the nomination, Mine’s A Pint has gone from strength to strength in both sales and popularity. We’ve continued to add strong material to the everyday brand as well as launching everyday captions and seasonal designs.”

Both Paper Salad and Emotional Rescue are exhibiting at PG Live.

“He quickly moved on from using the real Sylvanian figures and now hand makes all of the little critters, that he uses for the scenes, in the cupboard under his stairs – much to the amusement of his teenage children.

“When Paul isn’t playing with toys under the stairs, he’s a nurse!”

What’s so funny?

“My cats constantly have me in stitches because of their ridiculous antics. They're always getting themselves into unusual situations. And I love memes about parenting.”

Lucy Nicholson, owner, Lucy Maggie Designs & Sunshine Llama

Light relief in a heavy world

Whimsical, badass, and slightly sweary, Redback Cards’ Zeppelinmoon range celebrates all creatures, great and small.

The cards combine colourful illustrations with relatable everyday humour, offering light-hearted relief from the heaviness of the world.

Zeppelinmoon is lovingly written and painted by artist Amber Fossey. The designs have been a firm favourite of the Redback team for years, so it seemed like a no-brainer to work together on a greeting card range.

Owner Chris Stanley said: “We were super proud the cards won Best Humorous Range at The Henries and, since then, due to popular demand we’ve expanded the range to include coasters and both Christmas and spring seasons cards.

“With PG Live on the horizon, we’ve been busy working away on lots of new designs, and we're excited to be launching 10 new Zeppelinmoon cards at the show.”

Above: Mine’s A Pint meets the men’s market.

Below: All about animals with Zeppelinmoon.

Above: Paul’s rude humour is still on social media as well as the Forest Fr1ends cards.

Only when I laugh

There’s one tranche of folk in the greeting card industry who are well placed to judge the reaction to humour designs – retailers, as they’re at the sharp end, able to see and hear what happens when a customer catches sight of a funny design. Do they giggle? Is there an outright peal of laughter? Or are shocked gasps the order of the day? Here retailers share their best sellers, their own favourites, and what they hear in store…

Nigel Williamson, co-owner, House of Cards Home Counties

“We’re doing well with a new supplier we took on after PG Live last year – Bewilderbeest

We Heard There Was Cake is our top seller, and Shih Tzu makes me laugh. We always do well with Lucilla Lavender, Paperlink and Emotional Rescue who offer a great choice in humour but we do love finding something a little different like Bewilderbeest.”

Aga Marsden, co-owner, Highworth Emporium, Swindon

“Our two biggest humour suppliers are Redback and UK Greetings. Zappelinmoon from Redback is my personal favourite as it has a modern twist, however, our customers still love old good New Yorker or Giggles, from UKG. I can definitely see a lot of everyday light humour selling well, especially those that are dog or cat-related! They Can Talk from Woodmansterne is one of the most popular ranges we sell.”

David Robertson, co-owner of JP Pozzi and Bijou, Buckie and Elgin

“For me in terms of humour it’s very much tried and tested. Giggles from UKG’s Hanson White – which is nearly as old as I am – has a broad appeal and continues to sell through. Giggles is a bit like the much-loved comedian Peter Kay. It appeals to everyone, is very funny and occasionally can stray into the naughty side of things. Its older brother Traces Of Nuts is also good as well if you can handle things a little more on the edge.

The kings of humour are Emotional Rescue who really have supported this category with classics and innovation for a long time. Emo does so many ranges and have really influenced the humour cards of today. For me they are without doubt both the Billy Connolly, grand old dame of laughter, and the Kevin Bridges, razor-sharp observational humour.

On The Ceiling seems to be able to adapt to everything, from online dating to political comment to good all-fashioned toilet humour or light-hearted friendship jokes and it’s my personal go to when I need to send a funny card. Their relatively-new collab with Paper Salad brings humour which has a different twist again.

What is also brilliant about Emo is that they literally test their product and test their product so you can be sure if it makes the range it has sold through. Humour is of course a personal thing

Sean Austin, owner Austin & Co, Malvern

“Humour is so subjective, but I always chuckle when I unpack a delivery from Poet and Painter or Gemma Correll by Ohh Deer. I love a bit of punnery too, whether it's Citrus Bunn or Bewilderbeest.

Our top two publishers are Redback Cards for its Holy Flaps and Zeppelinmoon ranges. Also customers are loving Forest Fr1ends by Whale & Bird

Today’s titters is a hard one. I do like a double entendre but am equally pleased as a dog person by watching videos on YouTube of cats spectacularly failing to jump off furniture!”

Carl Dunne & Ollie Guise-Smith, co-owners, Cards & Gifts, Dronfield

“On the cards front, UKG’s Giggles and Woodmansterne’s Genius are our top two sellers, and Dean Morris is our personal favourite, if only just because it’s usually a bit blue.

Drag comedy obviously ranks highly with us and therefore Bianco Del Rio is a favourite. But, to be honest, since the death of Paul O’Grady our house has mainly been watching re-runs of Lily Savage on YouTube, especially the outtakes from the Lily Savage Show and Blankety Blank. And we like stand up – again, amazing comics on YouTube like the Hot Water Comedy Club!

Eurovision is coming up which always gives us a good giggle, especially as the night goes on and you can tell Graham Norton is getting through a bottle of two of Sauvignon! Donald Trump and the fiasco that is his political career is still something worth giggling about!”

but I find they are able to cover things really well and it works perfectly for specific caption humour as well.

In terms of what is making me laughpoliticians and just how out of touch they are with real life, real-life situations and small business in general. It’s not funny but, then again, if you don’t laugh you’d cry.

For me I like story comedians – those that see something in our everyday lives and then tease it and twist it and embellish it until it gets to be a funny story. Billy Connolly was the master of this and his classic stories can be listened to again and again, even though you know the punchline it’s still funny. From holidays in Aberdeen to the big slipper no one quite had that rock star swagger like Connolly had.

The other things that make me laugh is my dog Hiro and my ninemonth-old son! Life is just one big barrel of laughs for Hudson and he smiles his way through the day.”

Above and left: Bewilderbeest and Lucilla Lavender do well for House of Cards.

Top: Hudson makes David Robertson laugh.

Above: Emo tests and tests all of its designs, including those in On the Ceiling.

Above: Aga loves Redback’s Zeppelinmoon.

Above: Sean Austin’s customers love Redback’s Holy Flaps.

Above: Ollie and Carl love a laugh – and Bianco Del Rio.

Helen and Paul Southgate, co-owners, Cards ’N’ Things, Hellesdon

“The top two publishers for us at the moment are Rosie Made a Thing and Pickled Prints, the latter being a local company based here in Norfolk. Its driving test card is our favourite and we sell so many of these.

From Rosie Made a Thing it’s the sport humour we think they have spot on, my personal favourite is ‘That awkward moment when you’re wearing Nikes and you can’t do it’. We send so many Rosie cards to friends and family. We also like the coasters, notepads and bookmarks, these are great gifts as well as her book Wine Not.

Dog humour will be strong for us again this year we think especially as we have so many canine customers!”

Elaine Buttery, owner, All Occasions, Sheffield:

What's so funny?

“Paul O’Grady TV show reruns, old Lily Savage footage – bittersweet as we’ve really felt the loss of Paul O’Grady, an absolute comedy genius and all-round nice guy and we loved his passion for animals and animal welfare. Lily Savage’s Blankety Blank never gets old! Dry, irreverent, lightning fast, razor sharp wit…just brilliant.”

Laura Kavanagh, co-owner, Go La La! Cards

Chris Beards, co-owner, Manton's Cards, Isle of Man

“We stock a large range of humour cards at Mantons, including The Art File and Dean Morris and we’ve just taken our first delivery from Ohh Deer and are sure they will also become popular with our lovely customers.

My own favourite cards generally feature insulting cats, Dean Morris does these especially well. Apart from greeting cards it’s my friends that make me laugh although not always intentionally!”

Andrea Pinder, owner, Presentation Cards & Gifts, Barrowford

“My top-selling two humorous ranges have to be Emotional Rescue’s Morphed and Ling Design’s Rainbow. They always give a giggle without offending the recipient! My personal favourite is Emotional Rescue’s On the Ceiling Carburettor design – it gets me every time.”

Caroline Ranwell, co-owner Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall

“Our two top humour publishers have to be Paperlink and Rosie Made a Thing. Paperlink’s Bottom Line and Wrinklies ranges have been really popular for us for years, they bring out new designs every year and they just keep on selling.

Rosie’s Gin & Frolics and Babble ranges sell consistently well – so much so that we recently increased the amount of open designs in store. Their bestselling designs are the age-related ones and, of course, the drink-related ones. It’s impossible to pick out individual bestsellers as so many of them are top sellers.

Today's titters are definitely alcohol or age-related cards! People just love to poke fun at each other and themselves.

My personal favourite has to be Dean Morris, he lives local to the shop so often pops in to see us. Dean’s cards are absolutely hilarious, he has huge range of risqué designs, these we keep in our Cheeky Box for customers to browse through. This works really well, my customers love them and even more so when I tell them that Dean is local. He does, of course, have a great range of much tamer cards which we display on a spinner and these sell equally well”

“Most people usually laugh at everyday hiccups or a card showing the true feelings of what a person is thinking without it being offensive. The top humour companies in my store are Rosie Made a Thing and Pigment followed by Brainbox Candy and Dean Morris. My favourite is Rosie Made a Thing, it has the right level of humour for all occasions. The morning one I love, ‘Here we ffffking go again er I mean good morning’, this makes everyone laugh out loud.

We all like to laugh at humour cards and share this with customers, friends and family as it makes your soul sing and gives a good feeling to anyone’s day.”

Stuart Delahoy, owner, Set, Leicester

“We like a bit of rude sweary humour – in fact, it was hard to think of humour without a little naughtiness creeping in. Our best and favourite supplier is definitely Buddy Fernandez, they still sell really well and recently we’ve collaborated on some Leicester specific cards. Leicester’s biggest Cock Womble anybody?

An oldie but a goodie is Dean Morris, let’s face it Dean has a look and it’s served him, and us, well for 20 years now and shows no sign of going anywhere. We took on Objectables recently and had a great reaction. Brainbox Candy and Redback are still strong. Lucy Maggie and Soochichacha offer a nice light-hearted take on life. Finally, Jim’ll Paint it illustrations from Lesser Spotted are amazing and translate well to a greetings card format.

What makes me laugh, well Greg Davies cracks me up, in particular The Cleaner at the moment. After all the lockdown and Covid cards, surely the current political shit show must be a fertile breeding ground for some new humour designs, come on folks get on it!”

Left: Elaine loves Emo’s Carburettor.

Above: Stuart and Set’s card buyer Grace Podmore love a cock womble!

Above: Caroline with pal Dean Morris and her Paperlink bestsellers.

Above: Chris with staff member Olivia Leggate and their favourite designs.

Above: Dean Morris is a top seller for Andrea.

Above: Helen and Paul support local publisher Pickled Prints.

New material

As the findings of the PG Retail Barometer testified, card retailers have an unquenchable thirst for new humour cards. Well…fill your boots!

Cutting comments

Just in time for PG Live, Battered Cards is going live with a new range aptly named The Insults

In keeping with the house style, they're all simple text-based illustrations that very much treat you mean to keep you keen.

The range is perfect for anyone that wants to make fun of their friends before they wish them a happy birthday – the ones that show affection through pointing out the size of their forehead.

So, if you get given one of these, just know that whoever gave you it really, really, really loves you. Probably.

Bobbing about

Bewilderbeest has released a smattering of daft new cards recently, including this handsome chap.

This is Bobcat – for all the Roberts who get called Bob against their will! Bewilderbeest will be showing at PG Live. Left: The name game Bewilderbeest style.

All about the colour

What better way for Earlybird Designs to celebrate moving up to the mezzanine on to a bigger PG Live stand than to launch more of their neon eye-catching Super Fabs. In true Earlybird style it's all about the colour, but this time

“Our Super Fabs have been the fastest selling cards we have ever produced, so expanding the range was always going to be a good idea!" said founder and main designer Dom Early.

“We had a lot of requests to expand the larger numbers and specifically into humour so that is what we have focused on for this show.”

What’s so funny?

“I really like the unexpected. I like random humour. I like having to think about things for a minute. One of my favourite ranges of other publishers at the moment is Otherwhats from Brainbox Candy. The diversity of reaction we get from these in our retail shop is amazing, it really shows how different people’s sense of humour is.”

Tim Gould, co-owner of Objectables

Getting personal

Lots of bespoke naughtiness is happening at Buddy Fernandez, with co-owner Lee Rowlett explaining that customers are loving being able to personalise things and tailor the cards to their area or sense of humour.

Lee added: “And there’s new Wild Life designs out now too. We also have lots of big plans for the summer, but that’s under wraps at the moment!”

Getting smart with phones

Lucilla Lavender has launched Message Me, a fun range based purely on mobile phones, which have been turned into human characters, drawn in a simple, colourful style, which will be among the newness on its PG Live stand.

The range has broad appeal, pokes fun at some of the jargon, and celebrates the close relationship – and frustrations! –everyone has with their phones in these modern times.

Cocktail cabinet

Over at Cath Tate Cards, Rosie has been furiously adding new hilarious additions to the Pina Colada range which was launched last year and has been very popular. All the newness will be launched at PG Live.

Left: Earlybird’s Super Fabs are definitely bright.

Above: Insulting text from Battered Cards.

Above: Message Me is based on mobiles.

Below: A new Wild Life design.

Right: Cath Tate Cards’ new Pina Colada designs.

Famous five

Humour specialist Emotional Rescue has been particularly busy on the new collections front, with no less than five being launched, which will be on show at PG Live.

Click Like & Share offers animal images, there’s classic fine art with a twist in Brushed Issues, and Rebellion offers inspiring quotes – with a little alteration. Meanwhile, there’s new contemporary humour in the Sorted range, while Spoken In Jest marries text with bright colours.

Let the gag do the talking

Typeractive is UK Greetings’ contemporary typography humour range. It has a classy look with a foil and deboss that lets the gag do the talking. With its characteristic topical humour and relatable lifestyle references, the range is already proving a big hit in standalone and captions.

And Ticklish Allsorts features evergreen favourite gags illustrated in a fresh and modern style. UKG is exhibiting at PG Live.

Searching out silliness

The Comedy Card Co owners Alan and Lucy Auld have been having fun searching out 1920s photos for their latest in-house range.

“We’re adding very silly captions to create some new cards,” Alan explained. “We’ve been testing these new designs on our retail website and they've been selling really well.”

Showing at PG Live.

Twists and turns

Go La La!’s Dark Matters range of irreverent humour with a dark twist has had a revamp, and designs are now 127x177mm portrait rather than square, supplied with canary yellow envelopes. And a selection of the publisher’s classic Trollied Dollies card designs has been scooped up by Brown Trout Publishing in a licensing deal for a 2024 calendar.

Right: Dark Matters from Go La La!

What’s so funny?

Feline funny

Seeking out the humour is survival behaviour over Christmas so Poet and Painter has packed this year’s new Christmas collection with tomfoolery, as you can see on its stand at PG Live.

And founder Lucy Creed added: “Our dogs and cats make us laugh endlessly and customers love them, so we include a bit of animal frippery in every collection – Take Your Cat To Work Day is a new design.

Childish pranks

Redback is known for straighttalking humour, and the new additions to its bestselling ranges Cloud Nine and Holy Flaps are no exception.

Keeping moo-ving

Lucy Driver may be an accidental artist but her characterful cards are full of charm as well as being a way of helping her recover from a serious brain injury.

Having kept a drawing diary to pass the time, Lucy developed her own style with a gentle humour, and she said: “My Katie’s Cows range is proving popular – so I like to think that they make the recipient giggle!” Lucy will be at PG Live.

Right: Katie’s Cows is Lucy Driver’s popular range.

Keeping it clean

Clean, lifestyle-oriented, tasteful designs and humour are the pointers for wholesale publisher Out Of The Blue Studios’ new open humour Quip & Wit brand.

And co-owner Peter Rawlingson is happy that the success of the first range, which complements the publisher’s everyday ranges, has led to the launch of 12 captioned C75s and a further 24 C50 open and captions.

Each card is designed by well-known humour artist Henryk Szor with foil finish, full colour inside, and coloured envelopes, using sustainably-sourced FSC board, and there are caption finder header cards available to stand out in the retail environment.

Left: Old pics become new cards at The Comedy Card Co.

Left: Redback has expanded bestselling ranges. bestselling ranges.

Above: One of the Click Like & Share designs from Emotional Rescue.

“Memes, random stuff on the internet, other people’s misfortune falling down escalators etc – I’m going to hell I know.”

Dean Morris, owner, Dean Morris Cards

Above: Out Of The Blue keeps humour clean.

Above: A design from UKG’s Typeractive ranges.

Right: Poet And Painter seek out the humour.

Eight grate designs

The latest range from Whale & Bird is called Don’t Quote Me On It and is completely stuffed full of puns.

Left: Whale & Bird has the biggest collection of cheese grater cards.

Defying logic

Photosh*ts is the latest range from Objectables which co-owner Tim Gould is already working on expanding with occasions and more everyday.

The long-running Crossed-Out Favourites range is also still going strong with new cards being launched to keep the momentum going.

Loaded with puns

Fun and colourful food-themed designs are a speciality at Katie Tinkler Illustration, and the latest range, which will be on show at PG Live, has been loaded with puns to bring a smile to everyone’s faces – with a few naughtier cards in the selection too.

Right: Katie Tinkler loves her food.

Totally terrible

Above: An Objectables’ new design.

Pushing Pusheen

Pusheen is a slightly chubby cartoon cat with a big cult following – she has over eight million followers on Facebook. Her comic strip antics mostly revolve around her love of junk food and her passion for lazing around and doing very little.

Hype continues to push the Pusheen range by expanding it with new greeting cards, mini cards and button badges. See them at PG Live.

Inspired by Gwynnie

The news provides inspiration for Mean Mail’s Vicky Simmonds and two of her latest designs have come from the court case between Hollywood star slash lifestyle guru Gwyneth Paltrow and a retired optometrist.

Right: Mean Mail follows the news.

Moo-ving on

Extending its Canine Humour range has proved a smart move for Twizler, with the latest everyday humour releases doing well.

“They have been fantastically received,” said director Laura Murphy, “two of my faves are Lost His Licence and the Moo Accent.”

Left: One of Laura’s new favourites.

Definitely a good egg

Donut look any further for a cheesy food humour range! Klara Hawkins has nine eggs-traordinary cards that are top banana! They are peely great for all ages and just ripe for kids who love the yolks! See them at PG Live.

Right: Klara’s cheesy food humour range.

Humour at the Little Green Paper Shop is “terrible” according to co-owners Ana and Graeme Park and completely pun and plant-related.

“We don't take ourselves too seriously,” Graeme explained. “Card jokes don't have to be the world's best jokes, they have to be short and sweet. We favour a terrible pun and have put these to use in two of our core ranges, Fruit & Veg and Plant Puns.” Go and check them out at PG Live.

Finding the funny

Not All Jack designer Mark Hamilton likes to find the funny in everyday lives and passions and the publisher’s Cycling range continues to be popular.

Yoga and Fussy Eater are the latest additions to the Cat Cards range, while Directions is also a new addition, depicting John, who will never admit he doesn't know the way!

Right: A new addition from Not All Jack.

A snapshot of life

Through The Lens is the latest range from Peartree Heybridge where artist Sarah Boddy has used her Camilla & Rose characters in snapshots from everyday life.

“They’re not necessarily supposed to be funny with the same genre of straplines as our original Camilla & Rose range,” Sarah explained., “but slightly quirky oneliners as if explaining a holiday snap.

“They include a background unlike C&R originals which are just the two characters on a plain background – we’re hoping the collection gives a new dimension to the original range and will hopefully sell well alongside each other.”

See them at PG Live.

Right: Sarah Boddy has expanded Camilla & Rose’s antics.

Above: Plant puns grow at Little Green Paper Shop, which are printed on seeded paper.

Above: Hype’s Pusheen range has been expanded.