29. Greeting Cards

The Economics of Everyday Things

Freakonomics Network

Business

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2023

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The tradition of sending cards to loved ones was in decline — until it was rescued by a new generation. But millennials have their own ideas about what sentiments they want to convey. Zachary Crockett is thinking of you on your special day.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hollywood has the Oscars, the
0:05.0	the music industry has the Grammys,
0:08.0	Broadway, the Tony's.
0:10.0	And then there's this. First category, we have Birthday General, $5.00 and below.
0:17.0	Paper salad.
0:18.0	Great Aerographics.
0:20.0	Fine moments and Hallmark cards.
0:22.0	And the winner is? The winner is. fine moments and hallmark cards.
0:22.8	And the winner is?
0:23.8	The winner is.
0:24.8	Paper salad!
0:27.8	This is the Louie Awards, where a panel of judges selects the year's best greeting cards.
0:34.0	More than a thousand entrants compete in 51 categories.
0:37.8	Birthday, sympathy, thank you, all the major holidays.
0:41.4	And the Friendship and Encouragement category all the major holidays.
0:45.0	In the Friendship and Encouragement category, the 2023 Louis Award goes to a card with a bunch of flowers
0:50.0	that says,
0:51.0	remember, you're an infinitely iconic bitch having a human experience.
0:56.1	The winner in the Christmas humor category reads, happy, collecting new material for your therapist
1:01.8	holidays.
1:03.4	Lines like those are now the backbone of the $7 billion greeting card business,
1:08.7	a business that has found some new customers. The millennial generation is now the largest buyers of greeting cards from a dollar standpoint.
	...

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