Английская Википедия:Despair, Inc.
Despair, Inc is a company based in Austin, Texas, that produces posters and souvenirs that satirize the motivational indoctrination common in corporate environments.[1][2][3][4]
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 Шаблон: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."[5]
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".[6]
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
External links
- Despair, Inc. web site
- United States Patent & Trademark Office – Latest status info on :-( trademark
- ↑ "At the Whiteboard: Signs of a demotivated workforce" ZDnet ZDNet Шаблон:Webarchive
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ thatotherpaper Article About Despair, Inc. and sister company Amplifier
- ↑ [1] Шаблон:Webarchive
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite journal
- Английская Википедия
- Страницы с неработающими файловыми ссылками
- Manufacturing companies based in Austin, Texas
- American companies established in 1998
- Parodies of advertising
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии
