Think You’re Funny? Prove It!
American Greetings Asks Consumers to Show Off Their Humor

Contact: Frank Cirillo, 216.252.4938

CLEVELAND, OH (February, 2008) - American Greetings has made the challenge of identifying what people find funny pretty serious business. The greeting card company has spent a considerable amount of time sitting down with consumers to learn what makes them laugh, and how they like to share humor. And now American Greetings wants to see just how funny people can be.

Beginning Friday, Feb. 15 (and running through Sunday, May 11) the greeting card company is offering the opportunity to prove just how funny you are with a special “write your own caption” contest at, www.americangreetings.com/retailers/index.pd.

The contest, called, “Think you’re funny? Prove it!” will allow anyone who thinks they have a particularly strong funny bone to submit their own copy for three photo cards. All three of the cards are blank and feature fun images, sure to stir the imagination.

Participation in the contest is simple. Those interested go to the site, choose the card they like and submit a caption for it. The grand prizewinner will take home $1,000.00 and the sense of pride that will come from having their own concept in print. Two runners up will have their cards posted on AmericanGreetings.com and receive a year subscription to the site.

A look behind the process

This contest is a way for card senders to get a little taste of what it’s like to be on the other side of the aisle. American Greetings has recently introduced a new line of funny photo cards. The offerings feature bright photography, short and witty copy and a wide range of humor styles to fit any taste.

To construct the new line, the American Greetings creative team searched through thousands of images to find the ones that would work best. In fact, for every single photo that made it into the new line, nearly 100 images did not.

“When deciding on what images to use, we had to consider much more than simply picking the funniest photo,” said Mindy Johnston, Assistant Product Manager at American Greetings. “For a program like this, we need to find images that will resonate and reflect specific sending situations, as well as being funny of course.”

In addition to finding the perfect images, the process of creating the short simple punch lines for these cards is anything but short and simple. Johnston explained that it often takes quite a bit of brainstorming for the creative team to come up with that perfect greeting. “The image is what often attracts a consumer, but the inside greeting has to offer that exclamation point,” said Johnston. “Our editorial team creates copy that is short, sharp and at the same time reflects the occasion that is being celebrated.”

The deadline to submit entries is Sunday, May 11.  Finalists will be announced in June. For complete rules and to submit your ideas, go to www.americangreetings.com/retailers/index.pd.

About American Greetings Corporation
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is one of the world's largest manufacturers of social expression products. Along with greeting cards, its product lines include gift wrap, party goods, stationery, calendars, ornaments and electronic greetings. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $1.7 billion. For more information on the Company, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.