Brits are embracing “main character energy” when it comes to birthdays, with new data revealing that film & TV-inspired personalities are the nation’s top choice for personalised birthday designs.
Analysis of more than 25,000 birthday purchases by personalised birthday card company Lookalikey.com found that 1 in 4 birthday choices are inspired by film & TV personalities, making screen stars and iconic movie moments the UK’s most popular birthday personality type.
The data shows that 25.3% of all birthday purchases feature a famous film character, TV personality or scene inspired by classic screen moments, suggesting Brits are choosing bold, recognisable and larger-than-life personalities when celebrating friends and family.
And when it comes to the UK’s favourite screen-inspired moment, one theme clearly takes centre stage. Dirty Dancing-inspired designs make up 5% of all birthday purchases, proving that nobody puts birthdays in the corner.
The findings suggest that Brits are not just looking for something funny or traditional when celebrating birthdays. Instead, they are choosing designs that make loved ones feel like the star of the show, whether that means a cinematic hero, a fabulous fashion icon, a sports star or a comedy character.
The UK’s top birthday personalities
Lookalikey.com analysed birthday purchase data to reveal the personality types Brits are most likely to choose when celebrating loved ones.
The top five national personality themes are:
- The Main Character
Film & TV-inspired personalities are the UK’s top choice, accounting for 25.3% of birthday purchases. - The History Maker
Historic and period-inspired personalities were the second most popular theme, showing Brits still love a dramatic, old-school or regal transformation. - The Style Icon
Fashion, cover-star and style-led designs ranked third, suggesting many birthday shoppers want to celebrate loved ones as glamorous, fabulous or iconic. - The Sports Star
Sports-inspired personalities also made the top five, with Brits choosing everything from footballers to fighter pilots and action-led characters. - The Joker
Funny personalities remain a major birthday staple, proving humour is still one of the most popular ways to celebrate someone’s big day.
Top individual birthday personalities
The most popular individual designs in the data were:
- Ballroom Lift Dance Scene
- Birthday Girl Action Figure
- Fashion Cover Star
- A Little Bit Older, A Lot More Fabulous Birthday Card
- Supersonic Fighter Pilot
- Vintage Street Gang Boss
- Benidorm Poolside Scooter Queen
- 00 0LD License To Grumble Card
- Beach Mankini Mayhem
- Magical Umbrella Nanny Swap
Together, the list shows the range of birthday personalities Brits are choosing, from romantic movie moments and action heroes to fashion icons, comedy characters and tongue-in-cheek ageing jokes.
Funny or fabulous?
While humour is still a major part of birthday celebrations, the data suggests Brits are now slightly more likely to choose something fabulous than purely funny.
Lookalikey.com sales data discovered that that aspirational and fabulous personalised birthday card designs account for 33.7% of purchases. This is compared with 31.5% for funny birthday card designs.
This means that, while jokes still matter, Brits are increasingly choosing birthday personalities that make people feel glamorous, iconic or larger than life.
Why birthday personalities are changing
Spencer Herron, co-founder of Lookalikey.com, said: “Birthdays have always been about making someone feel special; our data shows just how much personality now goes into the choices people make.
“People are not just choosing a standard birthday message.
“With our personalised cards, people can choose a version of someone that feels funny, fabulous, cinematic or completely over the top.”
“Whether it is drawing on main character energy or playing the joker card, these choices say something about how people see their friends and family.
“What really stood out to us was the popularity of Film & TV-inspired designs. It shows that people love the idea of making someone the star of their own birthday moment. There is something instantly joyful about seeing someone you know transformed into a famous scene, character or personality.”
Thomas Herron, co-founder of Lookalikey.com, added: “Humour is still hugely important, but the fact that fabulous and aspirational designs slightly beat funny ones is really interesting.
“It suggests people want birthday designs that do more than make someone laugh. They want to make them feel seen, celebrated and larger than life.”
Dr Lisa Palmer LMFT, PhD, from The Renew Center of Florida, said: “A card is hardly ever about the card, it’s a way to say something we find hard to say out loud.
“People pick funny over soppy because a joke feels safer, it says ‘I get you’ without the awkward bit. They pick a character or brand the person loves because it’s a small way of saying ‘I know you and I remember what you like’.”
