Introducing Indecision… the winner of the January Caption Contest!


Indecision Demotivator®
Our latest Caption Contest voting is complete- and, in classic paradoxical style, you decided on “Indecision”!

This time around, the 1st Prize winner of the contest is Mr. David Erbas-White! He’ll soon be receiving a check for $750, along with some other junk. All for contributing the winning submission, INDECISION!

But he’s not the only winner today. Also, Despair will be awarding $200 to Twitter user @robidoo, for being the lucky retweeter of our promotional contest tweet!

Starting Monday at noon, Despair is running an ultra-mega-huge Retirement Party sale. We’re going to be permanently retiring a great number of Demotivator designs in the interest of simplifying our gargantuan collection! So we’re going to offer crazy discounts on things we are getting rid of- and you REALLY should not miss out on this chance when it comes up!

But that’s not all! Because we’re also unveiling a really hilarious new DespairWear design- but it will only be available for 48 hours, and then gone forever! (I have it on good authority that we might even have TWO such gems- though I’ve yet to see confirmation on that…)

So- prepare yourselves! I wish I could start plugging the promo details and new shirt and all that stuff right now but I can’t- so make sure you check your emails first thing Monday morning. (Er, not really first thing. But by maybe 9am CDT?) You should receive a Wailing List email with all the scoop- and THEN it will be time for you to scoop up some great deals and freebies and that exclusive-and-available-for-48-hours-only t-shirt!

In the meantime, thanks again for your participation in the Caption Contest! I think it turned out a great design! More soon, yall!

The Caption Contest is Back- Bigger Than Ever


Caption Contest is Back
Oh yes! It’s back- and it’s bigger than ever! Despair is starting off 2010 with another of our beloved Caption Contests- and this time, we’re giving the winner $750! Wow! How’s THAT for inflation! So- prepare yourselves- one and all- for the battle of wits that pits you again thousands of your fellow demoralized, disgruntled, or disaffected Despair, Inc. fans!

I know most of you have figured out how this works by now- but for the new subscribers and/or the particularly slow long-time followers, here’s the rundown on the rules.

We’ve prepared a perfectly caption-worthy image. Now we’re calling on YOU to with with the perfect title & caption for it!

If your submitted caption is chosen to be the best- you’ll receive a check for $500- along with some other goodies (that may or may not be grabbed hastily from our “RETURNS” bin in the warehouse…)

Here’s how this all works…

From now until noon CDT on Tuesday, we are accepting your caption and title submissions. (Incidentally, the “TITLE” field is NOT asking for your job title… I can’t tell you how many captions I’ve seen that had titles like “INSURANCE ADJUSTER” or “EXECUTIVE CUSTOMER ASSISTANT IN TRAINING” or whatnot. We’re asking you to submit a title for your parody poster!)

When the Submission stage closes, then the Peer-review stage begins!
From Tuesday at 12:01pm CDT through Wednesday at midnight CDT- YOU are allowed to vote on randomized, unedited submissions from other participants- should you want to do so.

PLEASE, PLEASE NOTE: I’ll repeat this once again. If you CHOOSE to join the Peer-Review stage, you are choosing to wade through a largely unedited sludge of user-generated (in some cases loser-generated) content. Don’t write angry mails to me about someone else’s caption submission- it’s not my fault! We’re trying to get a little bit better about purging obvious garbage from the user-generated datafile (vulgar or racist stuff, etc.) But you still may occasionally run into something bothersome or unimaginably stupid. That’s the price one pays for the opportunity to help find and elevate the occasional bits of brilliance that will most certainly be buried in this mess.

Again, to those of you willing to brave the wasteland in search of genius, we’re quite grateful for your efforts. That is why- once the contest is complete- we will again offer, for a very brief window- a chance for you to get a framed 5×7 of the winning design for free. But I’m getting ahead of myself… Where was I? Oh yes… Thursday.

On Thursday, we will announce between 6 to 12 semi-finalists from amongst the top contest vote-getters. If you don’t want to read through raw captions but you do want to vote on semi-finalists, you are more than welcome to do so. A final vote will be held starting Thursday afternoon to determine the final contest winner!

All you need to do in order to submit your entry (or entries) is visit this link. Remember, you have until Monday at midnight to submit your suggested caption(s)!

And- once again I’m inviting my Twitter followers- should they want to- to you Retweet the CONTEST invitation below. By doing so, you’ll automatically be registered for a chance to win $200. Simply cut and paste the blue text below into your Twitter update window and tweet it to the world!

DESPAIR.COM CONTEST: Write the best caption for this pic to win $750! http://bit.ly/1hk74 (Retweet 4 chance 2 win $200)

(Yet again, let me remind you: In order to qualify for the Twitter drawing, you need have at least 5 followers. And if it looks like all 5 of your followers were generated by YOU hastily so they can have fake conversations with you, you’ll be disqualified. Let that be a life lesson!

Now. Let my aimless prattling cease and your caption submissions begin!

The Gift Promo (Ends Midnight)


The Gift Promo

Summary:
It’s the return of the promotion that yours truly
invented! Put simply, we’re giving you the chance to pick out
one free item from a list of several of our most popular products-
and we’ll give it to you. For free! All you have to do is spend
$19.95 on something (or combination of things). This year- we’re
even adding Laptop Skins to the mix! So, if you want to take
advantage of THE GIFT promotion, here are the coupon codes
you’ll need to know!

If you want a free Laptop Skin with
your order, use the coupon code: freelaptopskin

If you want a free Lithograph with
your order, use the coupon code: freelithograph

If you want a free Desktopper with
your order, use the coupon code: freedesktopper

If you want a free T-shirt with
your order, use the coupon code: freetee

REMEMBER:
These codes do not work until Monday morning at 12am CDT-
and they stop working Tuesday at midnight. Don’t try to use
them early- they won’t work!

DEAL 3 – THE WHITEOUT

Duration: WEDNESDAY 12/16 through Thursday 12/17

Summary:
If you’re still looking to do some BIG shopping- this is THE DEAL
for you- because we’re giving away freebies with any order over $20-
and the more you spend, the more freebies you’ll get! Check this out!

When you spend $20 or more, we’ll throw in a free Pessimist’s Mug!

When you spend $30 or more, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE 2010 Best of Demotivators calendar (with 4 free mini-prints!)!

When you spend $50 or more, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE Pessimist’s Shot Glass AND a FREE Pessimist’s Glass!

And- hey there! If you buy any lithograph, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE Perseverance Lithograph. WOW!

Imagine! By buying only $50 worth of stuff- you can
score over $50 worth of additional freebies- most of them sized to
fit in a stocking*! And people will actually think you cared enough to
buy them the very worst- when in fact, you didn’t even care enough
to do that! Bitter irony abounds!

So those are the deals, the dates, and the coupon codes necessary for you to participate- all you gotta do is pick the one(s) that suit(s) you best! Remember, as long as you’re shipping to a U.S. address, you should receive anything ordered before midnight CDT on Thursday 12/17 before Christmas! So if you’ve been procrastinating, not yet sure what to pick up for those difficult-to-shop-for curmudgeons in your workplace or family, the wait is over. We’ve got the perfect stuff to inflict pain on them all throughout 2010- and like I said, you don’t even have to tell them you didn’t have to pay for it! Bonus!

Happy holidays!


* In the event that we run out of a particular promotional freebie- an item of equal or greater value may be included in its place. We’re pretty sure we have enough to cover demand, but occasionally we miscalculate. As you can probably imagine.

Despair’s Holiday BIG DEALS – Free Shipping? Free Products?


The Big Deal

You’ve waited long enough! Every year in December- when the buying season is in full swing- Despair pulls out all the stops and gives procrastinating holiday shoppers the chance at an amazing deal. But this year- we’re outdoing ourselves- by letting you pick the deal that’s best for YOU! That makes this our biggest sale event EVER! And no matter which you choose, you’ll be able to get your gifts in time for holiday gifting!

HERE ARE THE DEALS!
(Pay attention- the dates and the details are important!)

DEAL 1 – FREE SHIPPING

Duration: Thursday 12/10 through Sunday 12/13

Duration: Thursday 12/10 through Sunday 12/13

Summary:
You can have free shipping on any domestic order.
Simply use the coupon code freeship. (And hey there all
you non-Americans- while we can’t give you free shipping, we can
give you $10 off our International shipping. Just use the coupon code
unamerican and see your shipping fees drop dramatically!
(Please note- you do need to spend at least $20 for that code
to work. But come on, how hard is that?)

DEAL 2 – THE GIFT

Duration: Monday 12/14 through Tuesday 12/15

Summary:
It’s the return of the promotion that yours truly
invented! Put simply, we’re giving you the chance to pick out
one free item from a list of several of our most popular products-
and we’ll give it to you. For free! All you have to do is spend
$19.95 on something (or combination of things). This year- we’re
even adding Laptop Skins to the mix! So, if you want to take
advantage of THE GIFT promotion, here are the coupon codes
you’ll need to know!

If you want a free Laptop Skin with
your order, use the coupon code: freelaptopskin

If you want a free Lithograph with
your order, use the coupon code: freelithograph

If you want a free Desktopper with
your order, use the coupon code: freedesktopper

If you want a free T-shirt with
your order, use the coupon code: freetee

REMEMBER:
These codes do not work until Monday morning at 12am CDT-
and they stop working Tuesday at midnight. Don’t try to use
them early- they won’t work!

DEAL 3 – THE WHITEOUT

Duration: WEDNESDAY 12/16 through Thursday 12/17

Summary:
If you’re still looking to do some BIG shopping- this is THE DEAL
for you- because we’re giving away freebies with any order over $20-
and the more you spend, the more freebies you’ll get! Check this out!

When you spend $20 or more, we’ll throw in a free Pessimist’s Mug!

When you spend $30 or more, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE 2010 Best of Demotivators calendar (with 4 free mini-prints!)!

When you spend $50 or more, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE Pessimist’s Shot Glass AND a FREE Pessimist’s Glass!

And- hey there! If you buy any lithograph, we’ll ALSO throw in a
FREE Perseverance Lithograph. WOW!

Imagine! By buying only $50 worth of stuff- you can
score over $50 worth of additional freebies- most of them sized to
fit in a stocking*! And people will actually think you cared enough to
buy them the very worst- when in fact, you didn’t even care enough
to do that! Bitter irony abounds!

So those are the deals, the dates, and the coupon codes necessary for you to participate- all you gotta do is pick the one(s) that suit(s) you best! Remember, as long as you’re shipping to a U.S. address, you should receive anything ordered before midnight CDT on Thursday 12/17 before Christmas! So if you’ve been procrastinating, not yet sure what to pick up for those difficult-to-shop-for curmudgeons in your workplace or family, the wait is over. We’ve got the perfect stuff to inflict pain on them all throughout 2010- and like I said, you don’t even have to tell them you didn’t have to pay for it! Bonus!

Happy holidays!


* In the event that we run out of a particular promotional freebie- an item of equal or greater value may be included in its place. We’re pretty sure we have enough to cover demand, but occasionally we miscalculate. As you can probably imagine.

Dress to Depress for Less


dressblogfix

Wow. This promotion is so good I don’t even have to dress it up with cheeky ironic marketing copy. Here’s the scoop. If you were hoping to pick up a few pieces of DespairWear for your holiday gift-giving (and you really should- they are so dadgum comfortable and well-printed, to say nothing of their brilliance…) we’re are briefly offering YOU the chance to do it ON THE CHEAP! No, we didn’t lower prices on the website. We’re just offering this deal to you guys and gals because, despite our protestations to the contrary, we actually love you folks. (Just Filio love for now, not the Eros or Agape kind*.)

If you want to pick up some great shirts on the cheap- you’ll need to use this coupon code when completing your order: notallofusdressforsuccess.

It will automatically reduce the price of any and all t-shirts in your shopping cart by 30%. Want to buy 4 different shirts? Go ahead- you’ll save $23! Even I know it’s a great deal. When I heard about it this morning, I was all like, “For real, whaaaaa?” and my boss was like, “Yeah, totally” so then I go, “That’s like, whoa!” and she was all, “Yah tell me about it” so then I’m all, “Okay, I will… It’s like crazy Eddie time, but you know, without the fraud, racketeering, and money laundering…” and I had a lot more to say but then she cut me off and goes, “I didn’t really mean for you to elaborate further. It’s a good deal. Let’s leave it at that.” Girl harshed my vibe something fierce with that barbed volley, let me tell you.

Remember, though, we print our shirts on American Apparel tees because they take the ink really well and they’re super-dooper comfortable. But they run SMALL! So order a size larger than you normally would- just to be safe.

As far as I can tell, this coupon code expires early next week. So act fast if you’re looking to score some clever, comfy, cool shirts for your holiday stocking stuffers!

(Remember, the code is notallofusdressforsuccess.)

Gotta run! I’m about to get my Scotch and Retro-gaming fix on.

If Clothes Make the Man, These Clothes Make the Man Sad.  Or ladies.  You know.

If Clothes Make the Man, These Clothes Make the Man Sad. Or ladies. You know.


* I mean, I really don’t know you THAT well. Plus, I’m just sort of playing the field right now, you know, not looking for things to get TOO serious… Not after what happened LAST time with a certain someone who I’ve promised not to mention by name- though she knows who she is, and for some blasted reason chooses to subscribe to my Wailing List even though I’ve asked her to stop reading it **, since SHE was the one who decided it was over between us, and she’s the one who accuses me of not being able to let go.

** Well, who can’t let who go, really? I’m not reading your Facebook or Twitter postings anymore- but you can’t stop reading my Wailing List emails? They aren’t even to you or about you or of concern to you… But you still gripe to certain mutual friends about some random marketing newsletter I sent weeks before? It’s not my fault things with Mr. Glamtastic went south. You should’ve known it was doomed from the moment you saw him cough violently after knocking back that shot of melon liqueur at The Light Bar. You can’t build a House of Love on a foundation made of Wuss. And if you want my permission to have that quote put on a tombstone memorializing the death of your rebound relationship with Mr. Orange Blossom Scents with Lavender Basenotes, well, you better well pay me a royalty***…

*** “Call me!”

The Triumphant Return – Pre-Printed 2010 Calendars with Funny Dates!


preprint.jpg

Oh yet again I bring to you regrettable news! My tale is a tale of the triumph of customer whining over the indomitable spirit of employee indifference and executive skin-flintedness!

Every since the introduction of our radical, innovative, impossibly badassical Demotivator Build-Your-Own-Calendars several years ago, there has been a vocal contingent of long-time Despair customers who, for a variety of reasons mostly rooted in laziness or thriftiness, have demanded that we continue to offer the calendars which are, for many, the flagship of our entire product line. Those 11″ x 12″ offset-printed, saddle-stitched, aqueous-coated masterpieces of printcraft- which feature that rarest of virtues- volume-discounting!

Well, whiners, congratulations. The Pre-Printed Demotivator Calendars Have Returned!

For 2010, Despair is proud(ly annoyed) to offer something for the long-time Demotivator fan- and something for those who have just joined the highly-dysfunctional Despair family.

allnewdesigns.jpg

The NEW 2010 Collection Calendar features new designs for 2010 like Economics, Service, Creativity, and Marketing. Along with dozens of previously-unreleased Dates of Despair! Such as:

November 5, 2007
Disgraced former NY Times plagiarist & serial story fabricator Jayson Blair announces he is now a ‘life coach’ and ‘motivational speaker’ for hire.
February 4, 1912
Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt performs the first and only test of his ‘overcoat parachute’ by leaping from the Eiffel Tower.
March 11, 2009
AskMen.com publishes ‘Top 10 Subtle Ways to Tell Her She’s Getting Fat’. It recommends buying your girl too-small clothing and sabotaging her chair so it breaks when she sits in it.

And dozens more- making note of memorable idiotic moments in marketing, economics, statecraft, and of course, workplace life!

And for those of you either new to Despair’s storied Demotivators product line or wishing to share the Despair with someone previously-untainted by the irreversibly cruel lucidity that our products induce- I have equally wonderful news*. We’ve got a calendar for YOU, as well!

The REVISED Best of Demotivators 2010 Calendar features our most popular designs from all previously collections- such as Government, Tradition, Procrastination, and Achievement. Along with dozens of the richest, funniest Dates of Despair from early calendars! Such as:

November 28, 2002
Hasbro, maker of Monopoly, is fined over $7 million by a British consumer watchdog group for fixing toy prices and breaking competition rules.
January 7, 1980
“Space Invaders” debuts on Atari 2600. Programmer Rick Mauer earns only $11,000 for the game, which grosses over $100 million.
October 15, 1905
President Cleveland opposes women voting, writing, “We all know how much further women go in their social rivalries and jealousies”.

But- as a special added bonus, we’re also including four additional prints of additional Demotivator favorites with this particular calendar- for only $1 more! That’s Teamwork, Hope, Priorities, and Wishes!

And hey bargain-hunters, I’ve never seen them do THIS before**! Those money-grubbing higher-ups at Despair have authorized volume-discounting for either one of our Pre-Printed 2010 Calendars.

Buy 3 of a particular calendar, save 10%! Buy 5, save 15%! Or Buy 10 or more and save 25%!!!

“It’s like a miracle that happened to me this Therapeutic Mineral Ice!”, said some old New Yorker lady in a commercial I remember from many years ago. THAT’s the kind of enthusiasm I know you’re all feeling right now as this exciting calendar news just keeps hitting you in waves and waves! We’ve solved your holiday shopping problems for all those miserable malcontents in your immediate family, or your workplace! All you have to do is bust out a valid credit card!

So what are you waiting for? Start your engines!

BORING, UNNECESSARY, BEHIND-THE-CURTAIN WORKPLACE BLAH-SMACK FOLLOWS HERE. SO IGNORE IT UNLESS YOU’RE ESPECIALLY BORED, AS IT CONTAINS NO ADDITIONAL USEFUL INFORMATION, JUST SUBTLE MANIPULATIONS VIA ANECDOTES WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE ENTIRELY TRUTHFUL…

Putting aside this very scattershot and poorly constructed bit of pitchcraft, I do have to say with some degree of seriousness that I very much hope some of you take advantage of this rare opportunity and buy some of these Pre-Printed babies. There was BIG FIGHT internally- with name-calling and histrionics and the invocation of below-the-belt insults I haven’t heard spoken since playground bloodsport of the early 80s- all over whether or not to bother offering Offset Calendars again- given the hassles of production and the risks related to potential unsold inventory. Yes- that has long been the Achilles heel of Pre-Printed Calendars- that you have to buy them in huge quantities to get good per-unit pricing- but then you have to sell most of them out all before the new year begins, lest you end up with increasingly untimely product. (Not so with Print-On-Demand calendars!) So- the risk-averse wanted to avoid the dangerous of unsold inventory- while that customer-loving minority (including, ahem, a certain lower-level marketing employee) argued that there must be enough demand out there to sell 10,000 of either calendar…

We have less than two months to find out who at Despair is going to look like a HERO and who like a ZERO.

See, I told you it was boring!

* Go on, haters- I know it’s a garbled mess of a sentence. I’ve already braced myself for complaints, insults, and the occasionally helpful rewrites that inevitably follow such sloppy writing. Do your worst- I always do!

** Except for like every holiday season for seven years between 1999 and 2005, and even then only for every version of Pre-Printed Calendar we sold during those years. So almost like never, really.