His ascent in the advertising business occurred just as abruptly as his decision to leave it behind. After college he was extended a rare invitation to work for an ad agency in his hometown of Roanoke. In two years he had earned enough awards and recognition to attract the attention of Goldberg Moser O'Neill in San Francisco, where he went to work on accounts like Coca-Cola and KIA, quickly establishing himself as a major talent in the industry.

Just when it seemed he had arrived, Foard began to disconnect with agency life. It wasn't just his western Virginia accent setting him apart; a maverick in style, he felt his best ideas were lost on myopic clients who almost always favored safer, less original material. By 1999, despite all his success and prospects-not to mention his pending marriage-he assumed the status of "advertising agency refugee."

His goal was to create a product that only he would edit and approve. Surprisingly to him-and to his indulgent bride-to-be-that product would be greeting cards. It all started when he wrote a few Valentine's Day cards "for therapy," recycling lines that had been rejected by clients throughout the years.

The result was six all-type, letterpress cards written in his immediately recognizable-and sidesplittingly funny-voice. He took the cards to high-end stores in San Francisco, L.A., and New York. By the time he returned home nearly every retailer had faxed requesting more. Shocked at how easy it was to make and sell the cards, Foard started his own line, Squibnocket. He even gave the brand an appropriately sardonic tagline: Purveyors of Stuff You Could Probably Do Without.

Foard admits he is wary of the moniker "greeting card writer." "It just doesn't carry the conversation-stopping power of 'Hostage Negotiator' or 'Dance Team Choreographer,'" he says. But these aren't exactly your typical greeting cards-smart, hip, and entirely devoid of the pap and clichés associated with the medium.

Lane Foard '92, with a typical self-deprecating smile, with one of his Squibnocket cards.

They are amazingly simple in appearance. The first line of print dominates the front of the square card like a headline, and the type shrinks as the rambling, witty text moves to the bottom line. True to his background, they contain just enough copy to fill a 30-second radio spot.

The humor continues on the back with off-the-wall comments below the copyright information. In a nod to his friend and former classmate, one reads: "Questions, comments, or Sports Center sightings of the flappable but dapper Coach Russell Turner should be directed to: squibnocket33@hotmail." (Turner '92 is assistant basketball coach at Stanford.)

Like the card's design, Foard says the "trick" of the humor is simple: say something everybody is familiar with but in a way that no one has heard or thought of before. Squibnocket's peculiarly impassioned following proves the formula works. Even celebrities like Julia Roberts, Jim Carrey, and "whatshername from Ally McBeel" have joined the doting chorus, and Janet Jackson was recently quoted saying, "The girl who writes these is really funny."

Whether it's from "People-magazine-level celebrities" or "lesser-known but equally important ordinary people," feedback is Foard's muse. "I could live off that kind of response," he says of the fan mail that floods his inbox. He discovered this affinity in college when he started writing a humor column from the male perspective for Sweet Briar's student newspaper. "I realized that when you write something, people react to it," he says. "In my case it was humor, so the reaction was positive."

Foard was also a student assistant in the Hampden-Sydney publications office. While making posters for College events occasionally resulted in some less-than-positive feedback-he recalls with a chuckle that some more brazen posters had to be recalled-he credits that experience for much of his success. "There's lots of execution but a lack of ideas" in the advertising industry today, but Foard says he has Richard McClintock, Director of Publications, to thank for imparting the importance of ideas and craftsmanship.

He also credits the Rhetoric Program, as well as his studies in Classics and Latin, for teaching him writing and a command of language. "There are a lot of copywriters in advertising, but very few writers who can go beyond a tagline and actually explain their product," he says. "Hampden-Sydney really teaches you how to write. You're not going to get a better writing education anywhere."

By contrast, Foard started Squibnocket without any formal training in business. Even so, Squibnocket Card sales have doubled each year since its creation in 1999. He has also launched Jingleheimer Schmidt ("Ridiculously Fine Snickersmiths Since 1896"), a line which includes New Parent Apology cards, party invitations, and a series of relationship cards. He is also developing Bwue, a curious line of baby clothing and gifts. And next year Chronicle Books will release two Squibnocket-branded books, A Love Note for Breakfast, A Love Note for Lunch, and a Sensible Dinner and New Parents' Firsts, a parental version of the traditional "Baby's Firsts" books.

These days Foard is not at a loss of material for the latter. He and his wife Nicole are currently living "ankle deep in plastic toys," thanks to their three-year-old son Cooper and two-month-old son Reilly. And as a new father, he finds that one of the biggest perks of making greeting cards is the amount of time it allows him with his sons.

Despite his unofficial retirement from commercial writing, Foard still freelances very selectively for design studios around the world. He has helped bring the Mike's Hard Lemonade brand into the foreground of the consumer conscience, and his packaging copy-his "story" appears on the six-pack carton-appeared in the exclusive Graphis Packaging Annual. In 2001 he won the prestigious Clio Award-the Oscar of advertising-for a radio campaign. And most recently he designed and wrote a "slightly augmented History of Valentines Day" booklet for Soaptopia, an upscale L.A. retailer.

The freedom to write his own products and to pick-and-choose interesting freelance projects at will is poetic justice for someone as fiercely independent as Foard. While he says that working in advertising was a necessary step, there came a point when he realized he was giving away his ideas to a company. And ideas, he has learned, can be your most valuable asset.