Getting laid off from a job has always been synonymous with the delivery of a pink slip, but thanks to Hallmark, the experience might also become associated with receiving another piece of paper in the mail.
With unemployment sitting at 9%, the ongoing layoffs across the country have persuaded the greeting card giant to begin rolling out a line of sympathy cards with words of encouragement for people who have lost their jobs in the tough economy.
The development of cards that deal with the various hardships of the times is nothing new to Hallmark. The company also produced cards aimed at individuals who struggled through events such as the Great Depression, the military draft, and losing loved ones on September 11, 2001.
“People in times of need will always need to connect and when the consumers have asked us for a way to connect in those difficult situations, we try to respond in an authentic way and we think that what the greeting card does is offer a bridge,” Hallmark’s creative director Derek McCracken told NPR’s All Things Considered.
Those that work with the unemployed say they don’t think it’s a bad idea. “Getting a card like that and somebody caring is fabulous,” Michelle Crowthers-Lunczynski of Work One in Franklin, Ind. told CNN affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana. “The crazy part to think about this is there's so many people laid off. At least someone's caring enough to you know, get a card and say, 'I'm thinking of you.'”
According to McCracken, the idea to produce cards that lift the spirits of the recently unemployed came from the company’s own customers, who were asking for a card addressing a topic that hits close to home for so many people.
“They sent us letters. They phoned it in. They asked their retailers, you know, in their neighborhood, where do I find a card that said this?” he said. “Loss of job, like any loss, is a grieving process. And so we have to acknowledge as soon as possible what had happened and then try to support them. So that's where we kind of offer more cards on the, you'll get through this, versus dwelling on the loss of the job itself.”
The job-loss sympathy cards are not currently available at all of the company’s 40,000 locations nationwide, but Hallmark’s website lists several of the 5×7 cards on-sale for $3.49 each.
E-card companies have also latched on to the idea, but American Greetings, a main competitor of Hallmark’s in the world of paper and electronic cards, has yet to produce any layoff-specific products. Spokesman Frank Cirillo says that the idea is something that American Greetings might look at in the future, but it hasn’t seen a demand for the cards because the company focuses on personalized products that are open-ended and conversational enough for consumers to add in their own more specific messages.
Hallmark’s cards range widely in tone: Some of them contain messages that are more on the sentimental side and offer inspirational advice, while many are lighthearted and even make light of the recipient’s situation. One card reads: “Don’t think of it as losing your job. Think of it as a time-out between stupid bosses.” Another says: “Don’t worry, you’ll get through this. Look at me! Okay, maybe don’t.”
“The ones that offer more moral support, but maybe with a little humorous twist in a more encouraging fashion are doing very well and we're publishing more of those,” McCracken said.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Oh cyrus.. do you need some attention? too bad theres no card that says blow it out your a__, Id buy you one .
Aw, cyrus, does someone need a hug? Or a card that says it isn't nice to hit women? Or should we send you a sympathy card because your abused wife ran off with you dog and pick-up truck?
I'm sorry, cyrus.
Not.
Jeez! They deleted S Disturber's 'card'?
It wasn't anything bad at all, just a card from father to son...
It's ok. These were needed to inform some of their own employees.
Cyrus just needs to be set on fire.
I DINT see it. It PROLLY got deleted when I was on another thread. Dont they know theyre SPOSTA wait on me ?
Hallmark will make a fortune on these if Obama gets re-elected!
yes they will
$3.49 for a Hallmark card in this economy?
How nice of someone to get you a card to remind you that you're an unemployed loser that can't afford to buy anyone else a card.
Finding A Job !!
Now there's a Hallmark moment !!
.
Sorry to hear you lost your job, and I wanted to let you know that someone cares. Need help with your mortgage payment? Uh, sorry, but I don't care enough that I'd write you a check.
When you came here last year
You just couldn't wait
To show us just what you coukd do.
So we gave you a chance
And you couldn't do the dance
So now here's a pink slip for you.
Signed,
The ex-boss
lol love it!
Don't look at it as losing your job...look as it as an opportunity for one of your friends WITH a job to go out and spend money on a Hallmark card. Because here at Hallmark, we believe in making money off of any happy day, sad day, tragedy or disaster. Please visit your local Hallmark retailer for our new line of cards; "Sorry Your Dog Died in the Earthquake" "Sorry Your Wife is Pregnant with Another Man's Baby" and our all new "Sorry You Lost Your House to Foreclosure" lines – now with catchy songs inside!
My family went through almost a year with no work..... I CAN'T wait to send Obama one of those cards.
You better buy a bunch of cards for George Bush and the corrupt Republicans who backrupted this country to line their own pockets. The thanks goes SOLELY to them! Get a clue!
Hallmark must be owned by Rebumlickens!