From buzzword bingo to corporate chest-thumping, SourceCode ranks the worst offenders in its inaugural Q1 Cringe Report
NEW YORK, April 28, 2025 — No one wants to be that brand. The one with the press release so stuffed with corporate jargon and marketing fluff that it says everything and communicates nothing. Yet, every day, thousands of releases hit inboxes around the world doing exactly that. So, to help public relations and communications pros avoid becoming the next case study in cringe, SourceCode created the Cringe-O-Meter, a ChatGPT-powered tool that scores press releases on a 1–10 cringe scale and offers editorial suggestions for improvement.
Since its launch, the Cringe-O-Meter has been used 624 times by PR professionals worldwide, helping writers turn word salad into clear, human communication. The tool is already influencing how communicators shape their stories, and to commemorate its first quarter in action, SourceCode analyzed 5,300+ press releases from Q1 2025 to identify trends and the cringiest culprits.
“Cringe isn’t just a feeling, it’s a symptom of trying too hard to say too little,” said SourceCode’s Kevin Dulaney, Chief Cringe Officer (unofficial, but spiritually accurate). If your press release reads like a thesaurus had a meltdown in a boardroom, you might be the problem. The Cringe-O-Meter exists because someone had to intervene, and we’re excited to start intervening on a quarterly basis.”
Whether you’re a PR rookie or a seasoned comms pro, the Q1 Cringe Report is your mirror. It’s brutally honest, slightly uncomfortable, but ultimately necessary. You may be surprised to learn this quarter’s cringest offenders. Read it, learn from it, and for the love of clarity, let’s make Q2 less cringe.
We know you’re thinking it. Yes, the Cringe-O-Meter was used to make this press release.
About SourceCode Communications
What began in 2017 as an idea on the back of a napkin has quickly become an award-winning full-service marketing communications agency working with a vast range of consumer and B2B brands – from emerging startups to established category leaders. At SourceCode, we’re focused on bringing brains and hustle, humanity and technology, creativity, and business intelligence back to public relations and marketing. We fundamentally believe that what engages a brand’s audiences is the depth and authenticity of the stories they tell, and the ability to meet these audiences where they are with a channel-agnostic approach. For more information, please visit www.sourcecodecommunications.com.