Handyman Homage

Make your own saccharine posters

In an earlier post, I featured despair.com's hilarious versions of the pervasive motivational poster.

Now you can create your own online at AutoMotivator. It may not motivate anyone, but it might be an interesting student task. I did this one in about 10 seconds. I think it shows.



The Parody Motivator Generator at despair.com is also a lot of fun. Here is the description from their site.

The War Against Motivation Continues.

For over two decades, the multi-billion dollar motivation industry has unleashed untold suffering upon the workplaces, schools and civil institutions of the world- in the insidious form of the motivational poster. By the millions they have been sold and displayed- these dark instruments of corporate propaganda. While promising to stimulate "Hope", "Success" and "Teamwork", instead these tools of coercion and intimidation have inspired only grief, anger and nausea.

In 1998, one company dared to fight back, as Despair, Inc. introduced Demotivators®, satirical products reverse-engineered from the most powerful motivational posters ever inflicted upon mankind. And now, with the Parody Motivator Generator, we place those very same tools in your less-capable hands- giving you a chance to join us in the battle against an opponent as ubiquitous as it is idiotic. The chance to not only create your very own motivational parodies online, but also to purchase beautiful 11"x14" prints of your designs.

Now, Join The Battle and Make Your Design.

The question designed to elicit the never-appearing comments intentionally left blank.

Posters that I find compelling

The Mission Minded Management blog featured despair.com for the Friday funny. I heard an interview with the CEO of despair.com several years ago. He said that people neither read nor get inspiration from the posters that are found in businesses and schools. There sure are a lot of them in my kid's schools. Imagine if someone posted one of these in a classroom and someone else actually did read it!

Just Fix the System Please - A Friday Funny

By Michelle Malay Carter on January 31, 2008

I’ve been called irreverent. Sometimes I use sarcasm to get a point across, but Despair, Inc. has found a way to turn cynicism into cash-flow with an entire line of products for people interested in responding to the lame motivational words and techniques that organizations attempt. Just fix the system please!

Below are my personal favorites. They are from the Demotivator Poster line and they are available for $15.95.

If you were to create a Demotivator poster, what would it say?

.

Here are some more from their site:

Clearly the shirt is not for me - check my feedjit widget! Maybe if it said "More people have read this shirt than have posted a comment to your blog"...

This next poster was one that the CEO described on the radio show. Hilarious!


I wonder what it says about me that I find this much more compelling than the saccharine version?