The Cringe O-Meter 2025 Year in Wrap
Author
Kevin Dulaney
Leadership
12.18.2025
This year, we ran 18,400 press releases through the Cringe O-Meter.
That is 18,400 chances to sound clear, credible, or painfully awkward.
The verdict: Cringe is not dead. It just got louder.
What the data says
Cringe stayed stubbornly consistent all year. The average release landed in the low-to-mid cringe range, but the spikes were wild. A handful of releases reached eye-watering cringe scores, usually when hype, length, and tone collided at once.
Cringe stacks
The most cringey releases did not fail in just one way. They failed everywhere. High hyperbole almost always came with bloated copy, awkward tone, and grammar slippage. Once a release started overselling, everything else followed.
Hyperbole remains undefeated
Real Estate owned the hype crown all year. Every update was “transformational,” “iconic,” or “redefining the future.” The data shows a clear pattern. The louder the language, the less trust it inspires.
The quiet winners
Cannabis, Medical Technology, and Green Energy consistently ranked among the least cringey industries. Their secret was not creativity. It was restraint. Short sentences. Clear facts. No drama.
Grammar fails hide in boring news
The worst grammar scores rarely came from big launches. They showed up in extensions, operational updates, and routine announcements. When teams thought no one was watching, quality slipped.
Tone matters more than polish
Some industries nailed grammar and readability but still scored high on cringe. Why? Tone. Self-congratulatory, defensive, or overly earnest language turned technically clean writing into uncomfortable reading.
Brevity wins every time
Shorter releases outperformed longer ones across every category. Brevity was the strongest predictor of low cringe all year.
The most cringey industry
Private Security Services took the title, driven by inflated language and defensive tone.
The least cringey industries
Cannabis, Medical Technology, and Green Energy proved that clarity beats charisma.
The big takeaway
Cringe is predictable. That means it is avoidable.
How to write less cringe in 2026
- Write for people, not shareholders
- Cut hype before you cut words
- Match tone to the size of the news
- Proofread like someone will actually read it
- Let facts do the talking
Want to know how your press release would score?
Run it through the Cringe O-Meter before you hit send.