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HR wall slogans are cringey when still drying on the wall. They are even cringier in a ruin.

jameshart 5y ago
Gives you another perspective on the hieroglyphs on walls in ancient Egypt though if you imagine them being put there by enthusiastic religious branding consultants, and inducing just as much eye rolling from the citizens of the day…
- ijidak 5y ago
  Lololol. I've never thought about it that way. But it's true. Citizens of those ancient Egyptian cities probably did roll their eyes at some of the wall hieroglyphs. Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories. And the priests probably made up ridiculous stories of what their gods "did" and "accomplished" Some citizens were probably just as incredulous as we are today.
  - robinsoh 5y ago
    > Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories. Ramses II exaggerated even his defeats, that is, he claimed that as his victories. For example the famous wall relief of Ramses II slaying the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh. https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scenes.php https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scen... In reality it was a terrible defeat and it allowed the Hittites to limit Egypt sphere of influence to no further West than Canaan.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Of course they were. They state the human leaders were gods and immortals, yet why are they writing these things on their burial chambers?
- Gravityloss 5y ago
  "The manager of a fruit-and-vegetable shop places in his window, among the onions and carrots, the slogan: "Workers of the world, unite!" Why does he do it? What is he trying to communicate to the world?" Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 1978 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/01/the-power-of-the-powerless.pdf https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/...
- agumonkey 5y ago
  it's plausible but I have a feeling that cultures in those days had a lot more meaning, I may be wrong though
jacquesm 5y ago
The most cringey one to me is the Philips one "Let's make things better". Funny enough their slide down into relative obscurity started right after introducing that slogan. Up to that point they were one of the powerhouses of technology. Today they are still active in Medical, TVs and light, a faint shadow of what they used to be.
- tpolzer 5y ago
  You mean its corporate ghost (aka brand name) is still active in these things. Afaik they've divested everything apart from medical.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    Light is definitely theirs as well, and even though the TVs and white goods are made abroad they are still just as much Philips's creations as Intel is making CPUs. Edit: this comment is false. Please ignore.
    - ipieter 5y ago
      no it’s not. Philips Lighting is split of into a new brand: Signify. They pay to use the Philips name (e.g. for Philips Hue).
      - jacquesm 5y ago
        Totally missed that, my bad! (Given that this is in my country and in my field of interest that's a pretty good indication of how big of a miss this is, so thank you for the correction.)
- LeonM 5y ago
  After 2004, they ditched that slogan and started using "Sense and Simplicity" as their new slogan. I remember after that their consumer electronics got really, really bad. Basically all their products were just... not finished. The firmware on most of their devices was just terribly buggy, and features advertised on the box where sometimes not even available. I remember having an MP3 player where selecting the FM radio mode would just crash the device. Never did they release a firmware version that would enable FM radio mode. I had to carry a small metal pin in my wallet, just to be able to use the reset button behind a tiny hole in the side of the MP3 player. I usually had to reset it once or twice a day. I also had a media streamer that did not work at all out of the box, it just didn't support any of the advertised codecs. And I had a Phlips TV that would reliably crash when switching from TV mode to Teletext mode. Living in the Netherlands, I felt kind of obligated to choose Philips over brands such as Samsung. However, many times I found myself returning a Philips appliance, and buying a Korean/Japanese made alternative instead. Never, ever again will I trust them for consumer electronics.
acheron 5y ago
Always ask yourself: Is this good for the company? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5rB63Mzc8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5rB63Mzc8
laurent92 5y ago
On my startup’s wall, I have the top cringy slogans of my customers. In the middle sits: “We advance humanity.” I guess the message is, don’t take yourself too seriously, most of where companies succeed is happenstance. It still takes a moment to all visitors to understand that it can’t be serious.
- cwilkes 5y ago
  I think I saw that in Doom: Enternal. And yeah it wasn’t the good guys saying that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal
WJW 5y ago
"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair"
- vagrantJin 5y ago
  The greatest of poems
yholio 5y ago
In case anyone is wondering, the "propaganda slogans" on the walls are the Motorola "common values": We are innovative. We constantly create ingenious solutions to the real challenges of today, tomorrow and beyond. We are passionate. We meet every challenge with energy and determination, always pursuing ever-higher standards. We are driven. We keep it simple by focusing on what matters most so we can seize opportunities with speed and confidence. We are accountable. We stand behind the work we do, the contributions we make and the high business standards we maintain. We are partners. We succeed together because we respect all individuals and value contributions from colleagues and customers alike.

Gives you another perspective on the hieroglyphs on walls in ancient Egypt though if you imagine them being put there by enthusiastic religious branding consultants, and inducing just as much eye rolling from the citizens of the day…

ijidak 5y ago
Lololol. I've never thought about it that way. But it's true. Citizens of those ancient Egyptian cities probably did roll their eyes at some of the wall hieroglyphs. Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories. And the priests probably made up ridiculous stories of what their gods "did" and "accomplished" Some citizens were probably just as incredulous as we are today.
- robinsoh 5y ago
  > Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories. Ramses II exaggerated even his defeats, that is, he claimed that as his victories. For example the famous wall relief of Ramses II slaying the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh. https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scenes.php https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scen... In reality it was a terrible defeat and it allowed the Hittites to limit Egypt sphere of influence to no further West than Canaan.
dylan604 5y ago
Of course they were. They state the human leaders were gods and immortals, yet why are they writing these things on their burial chambers?
Gravityloss 5y ago
"The manager of a fruit-and-vegetable shop places in his window, among the onions and carrots, the slogan: "Workers of the world, unite!" Why does he do it? What is he trying to communicate to the world?" Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 1978 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/01/the-power-of-the-powerless.pdf https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/...
agumonkey 5y ago
it's plausible but I have a feeling that cultures in those days had a lot more meaning, I may be wrong though

jacquesm 5y ago

The most cringey one to me is the Philips one "Let's make things better". Funny enough their slide down into relative obscurity started right after introducing that slogan. Up to that point they were one of the powerhouses of technology. Today they are still active in Medical, TVs and light, a faint shadow of what they used to be.

tpolzer 5y ago
You mean its corporate ghost (aka brand name) is still active in these things. Afaik they've divested everything apart from medical.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  Light is definitely theirs as well, and even though the TVs and white goods are made abroad they are still just as much Philips's creations as Intel is making CPUs. Edit: this comment is false. Please ignore.
  - ipieter 5y ago
    no it’s not. Philips Lighting is split of into a new brand: Signify. They pay to use the Philips name (e.g. for Philips Hue).
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      Totally missed that, my bad! (Given that this is in my country and in my field of interest that's a pretty good indication of how big of a miss this is, so thank you for the correction.)
LeonM 5y ago
After 2004, they ditched that slogan and started using "Sense and Simplicity" as their new slogan. I remember after that their consumer electronics got really, really bad. Basically all their products were just... not finished. The firmware on most of their devices was just terribly buggy, and features advertised on the box where sometimes not even available. I remember having an MP3 player where selecting the FM radio mode would just crash the device. Never did they release a firmware version that would enable FM radio mode. I had to carry a small metal pin in my wallet, just to be able to use the reset button behind a tiny hole in the side of the MP3 player. I usually had to reset it once or twice a day. I also had a media streamer that did not work at all out of the box, it just didn't support any of the advertised codecs. And I had a Phlips TV that would reliably crash when switching from TV mode to Teletext mode. Living in the Netherlands, I felt kind of obligated to choose Philips over brands such as Samsung. However, many times I found myself returning a Philips appliance, and buying a Korean/Japanese made alternative instead. Never, ever again will I trust them for consumer electronics.

acheron 5y ago

Always ask yourself: Is this good for the company? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5rB63Mzc8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5rB63Mzc8

laurent92 5y ago

On my startup’s wall, I have the top cringy slogans of my customers. In the middle sits: “We advance humanity.” I guess the message is, don’t take yourself too seriously, most of where companies succeed is happenstance. It still takes a moment to all visitors to understand that it can’t be serious.

cwilkes 5y ago
I think I saw that in Doom: Enternal. And yeah it wasn’t the good guys saying that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal

WJW 5y ago

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair"

vagrantJin 5y ago
The greatest of poems

yholio 5y ago

In case anyone is wondering, the "propaganda slogans" on the walls are the Motorola "common values": We are innovative. We constantly create ingenious solutions to the real challenges of today, tomorrow and beyond. We are passionate. We meet every challenge with energy and determination, always pursuing ever-higher standards. We are driven. We keep it simple by focusing on what matters most so we can seize opportunities with speed and confidence. We are accountable. We stand behind the work we do, the contributions we make and the high business standards we maintain. We are partners. We succeed together because we respect all individuals and value contributions from colleagues and customers alike.