Hallmark Bows to Protests About Graduation Cards
Bowing to an outcry from a group of parents in Huntington Beach, Hallmark Cards said it will discontinue a nationwide line of humorous graduation cards keyed to the consumption of alcohol.
The giant greeting card company, however, declined to remove existing cards from retailers’ shelves, spurring opponents of the cards to schedule a protest rally Friday at the company’s regional headquarters in Newport Beach.
The decision to drop the line of cards came after Hallmark executives huddled Tuesday at their corporate headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., to review protests lodged last week by two substance abuse groups representing the Orange County parents.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Communities Against Substance Abuse complained after the Huntington Beach parents sent each group a Hallmark graduation card that depicted a refrigerator full of beer along with a single egg, with the caption: “Don’t go to graduation without a good breakfast first.”
The two groups asked Hallmark to recall that card, as well as another that depicts a dog with cap and gown, two champagne bottles and a word of advice to graduates: “Make sure your gown is comfortable and loose fitting. That way you can hide at least two bottles of champagne underneath.”
Officials working to prevent substance abuse said the cards were irresponsible.
“We just feel it’s directly against what we’re trying to achieve, which is a safe, sane and sober night for seniors,” said Elaine Goodman, coordinator of drug- and alcohol-free graduation night festivities for Woodbridge High School in Irvine.
Janet Cater, Orange County MADD chapter director, added: “It was outrageous. The only people I know who consume beer and an egg for breakfast are alcoholics.”
CHP Will Complain
The California Highway Patrol, which sponsors a statewide sober graduation program, also has been upset by the Hallmark cards.
CHP Commissioner James E. Smith is writing a letter to Hallmark officials voicing his concern, CHP spokesman Steve Kohler said in Sacramento.
In response to the criticism, Hallmark agreed to discontinue the manufacture and shipping of the alcohol-related graduation cards and will refrain from mentioning alcohol in any future graduation cards, Hallmark spokeswoman Diane Wall said.
Wall added that the cards in question represented less than 1% of Hallmark’s 600 different graduation card designs, and were not intended to promote drinking to excess. Rather, she said, they were meant to take a humorous look at social drinking and were designed for college graduates who are mature enough to realize the cards should not be taken seriously.
“We would hope that the mature graduate would respond responsibly to that type of humor,” Wall said. “But nevertheless, we are concerned and sensitive to the issues they (parents) have raised and that is why we have responded.”
Hallmark officials declined to yank the cards from store shelves, however, saying that graduation ceremonies already are over in most parts of the country and would soon be completed in California. High school commencement exercises in California are generally scheduled during mid-June.
Plans to Picket
Because of the company’s decision to allow existing cards to remain on the market, MADD chapter officials in Orange County said they will hold a protest rally Friday outside Hallmark’s regional sales office in Newport Beach.
About 50 representatives of more than a dozen substance abuse programs from throughout the Southland are expected to walk a picket line and talk about the dangers of drinking and driving at the 10 a.m. rally, Cater said. The protesters also will release 23 black balloons to symbolize the 23 teen-agers who died in alcohol-related traffic accidents in Orange County last year.
“We decided Hallmark needed a strong message,” Cater said.
But MADD’s national executive director, Steve Lawrence, said Hallmark has acted appropriately. “They recognize that these cards are inappropriate and have taken a responsible step. We would like to have all the cards off the shelves, but given the time frame I think they’ve acted fairly quickly to our concerns and in a very positive way,” Lawrence said.
Cater said MADD officials in Orange County also are encouraging the 800 members of the local chapter to go into stores and ask that the alcohol-related cards be removed.
Limited Success
Coordinators of alcohol-free graduation night events at 26 Orange County high schools also have been asked to contact stores, said Lori Warmington , president of Graduation Night Foundation, a nonprofit statewide group based in Orange County.
These efforts had met with limited success as of Wednesday, Cater said, with some stores agreeing to pull the cards while employees at others said they could not remove them without proper authorization.
At Suzie’s Hallmark & Office Supplies in Anaheim Hills, shop owner Bob Hammond said he pulled four dozen graduation cards off the shelves last week after some parents pointed out they contained alcohol-related messages.
“I was disappointed to see that from Hallmark,” Hammond said.
And at a Meryvn’s Department Store in Huntington Beach, manager Randy Rensvold said he pulled about a dozen such cards off the shelf after some employees complained.
“They took offense, and I can’t say I blame them,” Rensvold said.
