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The Business Of Love E-Valentines: The Sincere And The Snarky

Elizabeth G. Olson

Tens of millions of electronic greeting cards will zip through the Internet this Valentine's Day season. American Greetings, the country's second-largest card seller, expects to deliver as many as 500,000 e-cards per hour on Feb. 14, just like last year.

But in an age where irony and irreverence trump sappiness and gush, traditional holiday cards just don't cut it anymore. Younger consumers crave something a bit more playful and provocative (if not downright pornographic). Now there are host of Web sites that offer off-center takes on Valentine's Day and other holidays. Many of these e-cards are free, although almost all the sites require a brief registration. Some sell annual subscriptions--from $12 to $16--for premium service and more variety.

But it's not just niche players catering to this crowd. Last summer, giant American Greetings (nyse: AM - news - people) added a line of e-cards labeled "mature." When clicked, a message pops up alerting customers that the fare is more risquŽ than the old hearts-and-flowers routine.

Example: A card called "You're Delicious" features a series of suggestive food items, culminating in a message that says "Let's Do Lunch." "That really got me laughing," says 24-year-old Teri Meihls, a recruiter for a global staffing company. "It's like me--a little sassy and a little spicy. It's definitely something I would send to my boyfriend." So would a lot of Valentines, it seems. A full 55% of American Greetings' Valentine's Day card offerings are in the funny/risquŽ category this year, vs. just 38% last year. Hallmark is getting in on the act, too.

As for smaller e-card players, Vidigreet.com--which bears the slogan "icame, isaw, isent"--is loaded with black e-humor. One card--called "Valentine's Day Cupid"--shows a clueless Cupid trainee machine-gunning down a lover instead of shooting him with an arrow. (The newbie Cupid doesn't realize his mistake until a fellow Cupid points it out.) While the artful cartoon cards at Someecards.com are drawn in a classic tradition , the captions have a decidedly more irreverent flair. One says: "Be My Valentine, If We're Still Dating Then." Another features a frowning, disheveled housewife bearing a crying baby; the caption: "Call me anytime you're wishing you had kids."

Another shows an old-fashioned schoolmarm at a classroom chalkboard. Her disapproving expression drives home the caption, which reads: "Let's take a break until I've slept with as many people as you have."

For those who like to mix emotion and song, Ez-greets.com offers musical cards like "Crazy In Love" and "You Give Me A Heart On," that allow senders to add their own messages to the strains of familiar tunes. Valentine's Day choices include more than a dozen numbers, from "Earth Angel" to "Hot Love."

Then, of course, there are the purveyors of more salacious fare. At these sites, such as kinkycards.com, users can't peruse the inventory until they certify that they are at least 18 years old, are not going to send cards to anyone who is not a legal adult, and agree not to threaten or harass anyone.

For all the fun, there are a few drawbacks to e-cards. For instance, American Greetings' "mature" cards arrive without warning, so beware of blasting them to your Valentine's office. And cards from smaller vendors may carry viruses that can taint your Valentine's computer.

Finally, many e-cards allow unlimited space for personal messages--not a good thing, perhaps, depending on who's doing the wooing.