Despair, Inc.

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Despair, Inc.
Type Private
Founded 1998[1]
Headquarters Austin, Texas, USA
Area served International
Key people Dr. 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.

They also say that each one of their "Demotivators" is perfect for Disaffected College Students.

[edit] Other works

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 and currently the co-founder and 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].

Despair, Inc. is also one of the funders of the DVD release of More.

[edit] External links