- Despair, Inc.
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Despair, Inc. 
Type Private Founded 1998[1] Headquarters Austin, Texas, USA Area served International Key people E.L. Kersten, Ph.D. (co-founder) Products "Demotivators": Posters, calendars, misc. Website Despair.com Despair, Inc is a company based in Austin, Texas, that produces posters and souvenirs that satirize the motivational indoctrination common in corporate environments.
They are well-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. A running gag is that the category "Disaffected College Students" (or a variant thereof) is included in most listings.
Other works
Photo of merchandise inside Despair, Inc.'s Austin warehouse.
In 2000, Despair, Inc. obtained a registered trademark in the USA for the familiar frowny emoticon :-( 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."[2]
In 2005, Despair, Inc. published "The Art of Demotivation" by E.L. Kersten, Ph.D., a former professor of organizational communication, co-founder and currently frontman of Despair, Inc. 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 2006, the Harvard Business Review published a serious essay on the nature of work and self fulfillment by Kersten: "Let Me Take You Down".[3]
References
- ^ http://www.despair.com/spin.html
- ^ http://www.despair.com/demotivators/misfortunate.html
- ^ http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=F0403C
External links
- Despair, Inc. web site
- United States Patent & Trademark Office - Latest status info on :-( trademark
- ZDNet Video - At the Whiteboard: Signs of a demotivated workforce
- Low Flying Fish - A NPR radio documentary on the Motivation Industry and Despair, Inc.
- D.I.Y. Parody Motivator Generator
- Despair, Inc. Company Videos
- CNN Article, "Despair, Inc. - The Brand for Cynics"
- Article About Despair, Inc. and sister company Amplifier
Categories:- Companies based in Austin, Texas
- Companies established in 1998
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