Despair, Inc.
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Despair, Inc is a company based in Austin, Texas, that produces posters and souvenirs that satirize the motivational indoctrination common in corporate environments.<ref>"At the Whiteboard: Signs of a demotivated workforce" ZDnet ZDNet Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>thatotherpaper Article About Despair, Inc. and sister company Amplifier</ref>
They are known for their cynical and ironic "Demotivator" items, which parody the grandiose imagery and solemn language of Successories, a range of motivational products. Examples:
- MEETINGS: None of us is as dumb as all of us.
- BLAME: The secret to success is knowing who to blame for your failures.
- DREAMS: Dreams are like rainbows. Only idiots chase them.
On the company website, each "Demotivator" is followed by a list of individuals who the company feels would be a perfect candidate for the item (this does not apply to all their offerings). A running gag is that the category "Disaffected College Students" (or a variant thereof) is included as the last candidate in most listings.
Other works
In 2000, Despair, Inc. obtained a registered trademark in the US for the familiar frowny emoticon Template:Mono when used on "greeting cards, posters and art prints". In 2001, they issued a satirical press release, announcing that they would sue "anyone and everyone who uses the so-called 'frowny' emoticon, or our trademarked logo, in their written email correspondence. Ever."<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref>
Despair published The Art of Demotivation by E.L. Kersten, Ph.D., a former professor of organizational communication and company co-founder, in 2005. It is a spoof of the management guru book genre and features 18 stylized renderings of Demotivators to illustrate the points. The book comes in three editions including a $1,195.00 Chairman edition. In 2004, the Harvard Business Review published a serious essay on the nature of work and self-fulfillment by Kersten: "Let Me Take You Down".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
See also
- Demotywatory.pl, a Polish entertainment website devoted to satire, including a comprehensive collection of demotivational posters
- Life Is Good, a lifestyle brand best known for its optimistic T-shirts and merchandise