American Greetings’ "Lenticular" Cards Make Their Debut

It can be difficult to make waves in the venerable greeting-card business. The appearance of humor some decades ago might have been the biggest innovation. Not far behind in impact has been Hallmark’s far more recent move to put music clips on computer chips in cards.

Now, American Greetings – which has always played Avis to Hallmark’s Hertz in this industry – is hoping to create a new buzz for its brand with its “hi-definition lenticular” card line.

The Cleveland-based company isn’t exactly claiming that its lenticular cards will seem as sharply defined as a high-definition TV screen, nor that they’re three-dimensional per se, a popular trend now in movies with Avatar’s success.

But American Greetings is saying that the lenticular “format transforms flat art into impressive visual landscapes that literally jump off the page” and that “bold patterns and lettering breathes fresh life into the format."

“We are really excited about these cards because they take a really cool format and offer it up in a fresh way,” said Carol Miller, executive director of new-product concepts at American Greetings.

Well, anything that can help us express our feelings better has got to be a pretty nice innovation. As long as we don’t have to wear special glasses just to shop the greeting-card aisle.