A motivational poster (or inspirational poster) is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices.
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The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing.[1] This is not how everyone views such posters, however. Art Petty,[2] for example, in discussing innovation writes that it "cannot be mandated or legislated, and it definitely is not inspired by the corporate motivational poster".
Motivational posters can have behavioral effects. For example, Mutrie and Blamey,[3] of the University of Glasgow and the Greater Glasgow Health Board, found in one study that their placement of a motivational poster that promotes stair use in front of an escalator and a parallel staircase, in an underground station, doubled the amount of stair use. These studies all support the finding that such motivational posters, placed at the point of decision, can have a behavioral effect, with this effect decreasing back to zero gradually over a period of weeks after the removal of the poster.[4]
This kind of poster has been repeatedly parodied, and parody motivational posters have become an Internet meme. One famous motivational poster features a kitten hanging from a tree branch along with the phrase "Hang in There, Baby!" This has been the target of various reproductions and parodies, such as an appearance on The Simpsons episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" where Marge Simpson notices the copyright date (1968) and comments, "...determined or not, that cat must be long dead. That's kind of a downer."[5] Another reference to the poster is The Onion's 1999 "In the News" photograph titled "Inspirational Poster Kitten Falls To Death After 17 Years".[6]
Despair, Inc. has made a business out of such parody and cynical posters, with demotivational posters ranging from a picture of a tree bent over by wind with the caption "ADVERSITY: That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable." to a picture of a sinking ship with the caption "MISTAKES: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others."[7]