Comic’s campaign trends on social media while packs have sold out
Comedian Joe Lycett has turned his campaigning attentions and high media profile to helping artists and publishers left out of pocket when Paperchase collapsed in 2021 through selling his own designs on Christmas cards.
And it has gone down so well with Joe’s fans that the £15 packs of five colourful comic exclusive limited edition Christmas cards have sold out – twice!
Publicising the cards via Twitter – which generated hundreds of likes and retweets – and his own website the socially-conscious comedian said: “When Paperchase went into administration in January 2021, they retained more than £7million worth of stock. Since reopening under new ownership, they have been selling that stock without the original artists recouping their costs.”
Joe also shared a comment made in May 2021 by the retailer’s then head of brand Sarah House after Paperchase had been bought from the administrative receiver, who said “I’m really pleased to say that the sun has been shining on us and we’re currently trading above plan”, and the comic added: “While independent artists have lost thousands of pounds – thanks a bunch, Sarah!”
His sentiments about the previous Paperchase regime chime well with Dandelion Stationery founder Jo Wilson who also took to social media earlier in the year talking about the thousands of pounds she lost on stock that hadn’t been paid for or returned.
“I do sometimes struggle to say the word Paperchase without an expletive preceding it,” Jo told PG Buzz. “And hats off to Joe for shining the light on the fiasco that was the Paperchase administration situation.
“The way they treated small publishers and other suppliers was shameful and I still find it astounding that it was legal – if I walked into a shop and took goods without paying I’d be called a thief, yet a High Street store can order thousands of pounds of stock, not pay for it and continue to sell it with no comeback. A huge thank you to Joe for his support of small publishers.”
This activity is one of a series by Joe as a consumer champion. In February 2020 he briefly changed his name by deed poll to Hugo Boss as part of a protest against the fashion brand, and only last week was campaigning to persuade David Beckham not to travel to Qatar as an ambassador for the now underway 2022 World Cup.
The weekend saw Joe livestream himself shredding £10,000 of his own money after the ex-England captain didn’t respond to his ultimatum to drop the role in support of LGBTQ+ people who are persecuted in the country – in an update the comedian revealed it had been fake cash as he’d already donated the sum to relevant charities.
Meanwhile, the comic’s Christmas card designs are still gaining attention with one calling Father Christmas a “pedo”, “gay pony” for a reindeer, “shit meat” for turkey, “fart grenade” for Christmas pudding and “more shower gel” for an unopened gift,
The first tranche sold out within hours, so Joe issued a second edition with the message: “Due to insane demand I’ve decided to release some more of these cards with all profits going to artists owed money by Paperchase,” and they didn’t last long either.
Now Dandelion’s Jo is slightly worried: “Joe’s cards are fab, maybe us small publishers need to watch out – I hope he hasn’t signed up for a stand at PG Live!”
