Despair, Inc.
{{Infobox company
| name = Despair, Inc.
| logo = Despair, Inc logo.png
| type = Private
| genre =
| founder =
| location_city = Austin, Texas
| location_country = US
| location =
| key_people = E.L. Kersten, Ph.D. (co-founder)
| area_served = International
| industry =
| products = "Demotivators": Posters, calendars, misc.
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| homepage = {{URL|https://despair.com}}
| footnotes =
}}
Despair, Inc is a company based in Austin, Texas, that produces posters and souvenirs that satirize the motivational indoctrination common in corporate environments."At the Whiteboard: Signs of a demotivated workforce" ZDnet [http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-6069953.html ZDNet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721053900/http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-6069953.html |date=2006-07-21 }}{{cite web|url=http://soundprint.org/radio/display_show/ID/568/name/Low+Flying+Fish |title="Low Flying Fish" NPR |publisher=Soundprint.org |access-date=2013-12-04}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/01/17/offbeat.life.despair.reut/ |title="Despair, Inc. – The Brand for Cynics" CNN Jan. 17, 2004 |publisher=Cnn.com |access-date=2013-12-04}}thatotherpaper [http://thatotherpaper.com/austin/the_air_is_beige_despair_inc Article About Despair, Inc. and sister company Amplifier]
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 {{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."[http://www.despair.com/demotivators/misfortunate.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050331164815/http://www.despair.com/demotivators/misfortunate.html|date=March 31, 2005}}
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".{{cite journal|url = https://hbr.org/2004/03/let-me-take-you-down|title = Harvard Business Review Magazine, Let Me Take You Down|date = March 2004|journal = Harvard Business Review|access-date = 2016-03-08| last1=Buchanan | first1=Leigh }}
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
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.despair.com Despair, Inc. web site]
- [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=75502288 United States Patent & Trademark Office – Latest status info on :-( trademark]
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Category:Manufacturing companies based in Austin, Texas