The Hallmark hullabaloo

When
an Advocate reader was shopping for a
Father’s Day card, he came across one greeting
he thought highly offensive.

The cover of the
card featured a photo of an idyllic, upscale picnic
spread: plaid blanket, wicker basket, a bottle of wine and
two glasses, a round of bread, a fruit plate. Above
the photo, the card read, "Dad, how about a Father's
Day picnic?" The punch line inside: "Too queer? Yeah,
I thought so too."

The
reader said that he saw the card in two separate
supermarkets and complained both times to store
managers. But his greatest disappointment was in the
card company.

“Hallmark
has long marketed its products with the slogan ‘When
you care enough to send the very best,’
” he said via e-mail. “For my money, 'the
very best' does not include the use of slurs against a part
of the company's customer base.”

The Advocate brought this card to the attention
of Hallmark’s media liaison, Deidre Parkes, who said
that the company would pull the cards from shelves
immediately.

“[Hallmark’s business unit] reviewed it today
and did all agree that it was in poor judgment to
include the card in the line,” Parkes said in an
e-mail Thursday. “We are stopping the shipping of the
card, and we will not produce it again. Hallmark's
intent is never to offend, and we're truly sorry if
that is the case here.”

Earlier this year
the greeting card giant introduced a line of 176 cards
called Journeys, intended for dealing with life's more
delicate issues, like coming out, anorexia, and
divorce.