Comedy Central hits greeting cards

The kids from "South Park" will be acting up in the greeting card aisle.

The school-age stars of Comedy Central's crude and biting cartoon are starring in a new line of birthday and other cards, under a licensing partnership between the cable network and Cleveland-based American Greetings Corp., the companies announced Thursday.

The deal also will allow for future cards based on other Comedy Central shows, including the "Cops" spoof "Reno 911" and the cartoon "Lil' Bush," which imagines the president's younger days, as well as series starring comics Sarah Silverman and Carlos Mencia.

"Comedy Central is a destination for laughs for millions of people every day, and we're proud to be bringing the humor from some of the network's most recognizable shows to life in a new way," American Greetings licensing chief Michael Brown said in a statement.

The second largest greeting card maker after Hallmark Cards Inc. has been focusing more on humor cards. Earlier this year, it introduced a line of cards featuring illustrations of comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

An American Greetings research project spent 6 months looking at differences in what men and women find funny, the company said, and the Comedy Central cards are being created with men in mind.

The "South Park" line is beginning with seven cards sold at Target stores, followed by a gradual rollout next year at American Greetings retailers nationwide.

___

On the Net:

American Greetings: http://www.americangreetings.com

Comedy Central: http://www.comedycentral.com