New cards mirror trends in caring, reflection

Drug Store News, June 22, 1998 by Allene Symons

In recent months, the image of the Shoebox brand of humor cards has been modified with a bold new "thought bubble" logo and bright red color, found both on in-store signing and on card backs. The latest top-selling Shoebox character is Guru Guy by Mark Franzke, who will be in the Hallmark booth at NACDS Marketplace.

Shoebox now features 36 new Maxine cards (promoted as "Maxine from Shoebox!"), and gift items like Maxine and Floyd ceramic mugs, a Floyd bean-filled plush and other gift items. In other Shoebox news, the new Shoestrings line offers alternative cards for teens and preteens and is merchandised in the Shoebox department.

In ethnic promotions, Hallmark's Mahogany brand for African-American consumers offers a 59-card humor line, Joke Joint. New for Hispanic consumers, 20 Spanish-language cards from the black-and-white Verkerke line feature black-and-white images of children. In the Jewish Tree of Life line, a 36-card collection of inspirational cards called Imagining a Better World: Reflections of Love, Hope and Courage is by Jewish artist Nelly Toll.

In other news from Hallmark: Card in a Bag, which offers gift bags with built-in greeting cards; large square bags for gifts (as big as a basketball); new Reflecta bows that pick up the colors on the gift wrap; and new "bow burst" in six colors.

Gibson gears up

The latest news from Gibson Greetings is card lines for special interests and emerging demographic groups. The company recently announced the Chef 'n Around line, with recipes from more than a dozen well-known chefs. Each card has a full-color photograph of the dish on the cover, an easy-to-follow recipe inside, and a profile of the contributing chef on the back, along with room to write inside. Contributing chefs include Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of the Food Network's "Too Hot Tamales," and chefs from famous restaurants around the country, ranging from New Orleans' Commander's Palace to Chicago's Frontera Grill.

The other new line from Gibson is Snaps, a 108-card collection written and designed for young adults age 18 to 25. The new Snaps card line features bold designs and what Gibson characterizes as intelligent, direct" messages. Gibson breaks down the broad Generation X into two groups: Gen-Nesters, age 25-33, and Gen-Xers, age 18 to 25.

Gibson is very aggressive about alternative cards. A year ago it had one alternative card line-Life as We Know It-and today it has eight alternative lines, introduced in the past few months, including Buzzcuts (this is replacing Life As We Know It), a line of 432 cards targeted to baby boomers using humor for themes like aging and other shared experiences. The line includes soft humor, bold photography and other styles.

This year Gibson also introduced the Open Road card line, aimed at today's active seniors. Its Chicken Soup for the Soul card line doubled this spring from 42 to more than 80 cards.

Other new lines this year include Kitchen Table, written by young mothers, Remote Possibilities (21 computer-generated designs with contemporary humor aimed at guys) and the new Zoom line of cards with black-and-white photos, a favorite style of Generation X consumers.